At Second Glance
by Wetstar
Summary: The story of the 55th Hunger Games. The 55th Hunger Games; at first glance, an average year. At second glance; interesting. Even the victor wasn't who they were expecting it to be.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello! So this is the story of the 55th Hunger Games, as stated in the summary. It is NOT an SYOT! I already have all of the tributes. I also already have my victor chosen. I don't know how often I will be updating on this, so...yeah. Onto the story!**

** Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own The Hunger Games. **

~District 5~

My heart thumps in my chest as I join the rest of the 15 year old girls. The morning of the Reaping is always like this; terrifying and stressful.

The mayor, our past victors and our escort Norna Hemmins take their seats. My best friend Kathy elbows me in the ribs. "Looks like good old Norn gets more extravagant every year."

I giggle. It's true. Norna's hair and outfit are bright blue, her hat's in the shape of some weird looking flower, and she has gold tattoos of birds all over her pale blue skin.

The mayor does his usual speech and we watch the same video that we see every year. Then Norna steps up to the microphone.

"Hello District 5! Aren't we all just so excited for the 55th Hunger Games?" A few people applaud. "Now, let's start with the ladies, shall we?"

Norna crosses to the first big glass ball. She reaches her hand in, deep, deep, deep, and swishes it around a couple of times. Then she pulls out a name and walks back to the microphone.

"Cornelia Hurn!"

I breathe a sigh of relief. It's not me. Then I see Cornelia.

She's a small girl, with blond hair and blue eyes. She steps out of the 13 year old section, but looks like she's about 10. I know that if she went into the arena, she would be the first one killed.

So maybe it's because I feel bad for her that I do it.

My feet start running of their own accord, and my lips move to form the words "I volunteer!"

~District 7~

I hold onto my cousin Maria's hand as we walk to the Reaping. At 13, she's only a year older than me, and wouldn't last much longer than me. Her little brother Ash walks on the other side of her. He's only 11, so his name isn't in the Reaping yet.

Maria gives my hand a quick squeeze. I look up at her and she gives me a small smile. "It'll be alright" she says. "You'll see."

I nod. I don't mention the fact that her older brother was reaped a couple of years ago when he was her age.

We sign in, leaving Ash behind. Then I go over to the 12 year old boys section, and she goes over to the 13 year old girls.

After our mayor makes his speech, Aranas Pliffer takes center stage. He's dressed up in a lime green suit, and has on a yellow wig. Probably going for the lemon/lime feel. "Shall we start with the girls?"

He crosses over to the glass Reaping ball, and plucks a name from the top.

_Please don't be her. Please don't be her. _I think.

"Maria Feren."

I hear my aunt let out a heart breaking scream of pain. I glance back at her. Aunt Tamara's fallen to her knees, tears running down her cheeks. Mom's kneeling next to her, trying to comfort her sister. Ash looks stunned. _So soon after Zander._

I turn back to the front. Maria's just reached Aranas. Her blond hair's blowing into her brown eyes that are clearly blinking back tears. Aranas asks if anyone wants to volunteer, but no one does.

Aranas smiles. "Onto the boys then?"

He reaches deep into the glass ball and grabs a slip of paper.

"Reilly Heven!" _Oh no!_

~District 9~

Dad holds onto my hand as we walk to the Reaping. Kyle's strapped onto his back, looking sweet and innocent. Makes a change from the screaming mess he was last night.

"Now remember Olivia," Dad begins, "it's only your first year and you didn't put in any tesserae. They won't pick you. You're one slip of many."

"My name's still in there." I respond.

Dad grips my shoulders and turns me to face him. "I know. But you're as safe as can be."

I nod. But I'm really nervous. If I'm reaped, I'll die. And I don't want to leave Dad to take care of Kyle alone. Mom died giving birth to my little brother, so he'd be all alone.

I give Dad one final hug and head over to sign in. After my finger's been pricked, I join the other 12 year old girls.

Marissa Callings takes the microphone after the mayor's done his speech. This year she's wearing black and yellow, making her look like an overgrown bumblebee.

"Greetings District 9! And now, your tributes for the 55th Hunger Games!"

Marissa crosses to the first Reaping ball. I cross my fingers. She reaches in, contemplating which paper to choose, grabs one, and walks back to the microphone.

"District 9, your female tribute for the 55th Hunger Games is... Olivia Bon!"

_No. No. This can't be happening._

**And there is the first part of the Reapings! Next chapter; we find out who their District partners are. :( already two twelve year olds reaped.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed and/or put this on story alert! You're amazing people! :)**

** Disclaimer: Don't own The Hunger Games. **

~District Five~

_Oh no. What did I just do? _Norna's waving me up. "Come up, dear don't be shy. Cornelia, you can go back to your section."

Cornelia races back towards her section, shooting me a thankful and pitying glance. I give her a tiny smile before walking shakily onto stage. Norna smiles at me. "District Five, give a round of applause for your volunteer." About five people clap. I want to punch them. Norna continues. "What's your name dear?"

I swallow hard. My throat feels like I swallowed wood shavings. "Banner Slin."

"Wonderful Banner, that's the spirit of the Games! Let's choose your district partner."

As Norna crosses to the boys' Reaping ball, I stare out at District Five, knowing this is probably the last time I'll see it. I catch Kathy's eye. She's looking at me like I've lost my mind. I probably have. Beyond the roped section, I can see Mom and Dad holding onto each other, trying to keep back tears. I know they're trying to be strong for me. That just makes it harder.

Norna comes back to the microphone and reads out the name. "Onor York!"

A small boy with red hair and blue eyes steps out of the thirteen year old section. My heart jumps into my throat. This boy will have to die for me to come home. _Why, oh why, did I volunteer?!_

_ Because you didn't want to watch that little girl die. _My annoying inner voice replies. I don't bother telling it that I would watch more little girls die, and maybe even kill some, to come home.

Onor reaches the stage. His eyes are wide with fear, and are trying to blink back tears desperately. He catches my eye, and looks even more terrified. Probably because he just saw me race forward to volunteer.

Norna asks if there are any volunteers, but this time there aren't any. She gives us a huge smile. "Shake hands you two."

I reach my hand out to Onor, who takes it, looking like he's worried I'm going to break it.

Norna looks out across the crowd and says "District Five, your tributes for the 55th Hunger Games; Banner Slin, and Onor York!"

~District Seven~

_No, no, this can't be happening. I can't have to fight my cousin to the death._

I look at Maria, just to check for sure. Her face is filled with horror, not even trying to disguise her emotions anymore. That erases all doubt from my mind. I was just Reaped.

I take a few shaky steps out of the 12 year old section and Peacekeepers surround me for my walk to the stage. I can feel every camera in the area focused on me. I stumble on my way up the steps, and I could swear I saw one of the Peacekeepers smirking.

Maria's eyes meet mine. They reflect every question that's racing through my mind. _Why us? What did we do? How could I watch you die? How could I possibly kill you?_

Aranas smiles and welcomes me on stage. He asks for volunteers. Dead silence. I can spot Mom. She's looked up from Aunt Tamara, wide blue eyes staring at me. The same eyes as me... They'll be the last pair our family has left.

_Snap out of it Reilly! This is no time to be thinking about eyes! _

Aranas glances between me and Maria. "Come on now! Shake hands!"

As I shake my cousin's hand and she gives mine a reassuring squeeze, Aranas says "District Seven, your tributes for the 55th Hunger Games: Maria Feren, and Reilly Heven!"

~District Nine~

_No! Dad told me they wouldn't pick me! I'm one slip of many!_

Marissa scans the girls, looking for the girl whose name matches the one she just called out. "Olivia?"

I take a deep breath and start walking towards the stage. Marissa smiles. "Oh, there you are sweetie!"

I swallow the lump in my throat and walk up the steps. _Don't cry, don't cry, they'll just think you're weak and mark you as an easy target. And that won't help at all. _

Marissa asks for volunteers. No one does. I spot Dad and Kyle in the crowd. Kyle looks innocent and clueless. He doesn't know what's going on. But Dad's face is filled with so much sadness, that I have to fight to keep the tears back. First he lost Mom, and now he's going to lose me.

Marissa smiles at me. "Let's choose your district partner, shall we?"

She crosses to the Reaping ball that she hasn't picked from yet, and snatches a name from the top. I close my eyes, hoping that I don't recognize the name.

"Samuel Hudgins!"

My eyes fly open and I let out a tiny gasp. I know Sam. Not very well, but we've spoken before. He steps out of the 14 year old section, blond hair falling into his green eyes as always. I lump in my throat gets bigger. I don't want to watch him die.

He reaches Marissa and me on stage, and the overgrown bumble bee asks for volunteers. As with me, there aren't any, so Marissa tells us to shake hands.

We do, and Sam stares right into my eyes. I can tell he's trying to reassure me, let me know it will be alright. But I know it won't be, and the feeling grows as Marissa says: "District Nine, your tributes for the 55th Hunger Games: Olivia Bon and Samuel Hudgins!"

***sighs* Well, those are our tributes for Five, Seven and Nine. Next chapter we'll meet all the other tributes! **


	3. Chapter 3

**So here's the next chapter! And the rest of the tributes!**

_~District One~_

District One cheered for their tributes as they stood on stage, confident in their chances of winning.

Aurora Lee was an eighteen year old with red curls and piercing blue eyes. Her skill with knives and daggers was known throughout the district, and they knew she could come out if she really tried.

Taurus Cawl was also eighteen, with brown hair and brown eyes. He was deadly with a mace, able to easily kill someone with it, and it was rumoured that he had a trident that he had made that he was good at. He was definitely the district favourite that year, but Aurora was close behind him.

_~District Two~_

District Two was surprised by the ages of their tributes, but knew they were deadly.

Dana Kild was sixteen, with brown hair and green eyes that seemed to always be glaring at someone. She was deadly with an axe, and could kill you both quickly and slowly with it. At least half the district was betting on her to win.

Martin Wing had the other half of the district betting on him. The brown-eyed, red-haired fifteen year old was talented with spears, and could nail a target from nearly forty feet away. He was younger than all the other tributes that had gone before him, but stood just as good a chance.

_~District Three~_

Unlike most years, District Three weren't completely unhappy after the Reaping. They hated the whole system, but thought that they might stand a fighting chance this year.

Anna Parks, a seventeen year old with brown hair and brown eyes, was at the top of her class at school. She would be able to use these brains in the arena, and if she could find a weapon she was good at, might be able to get out alive.

Matthew Brown was an eighteen year old with blonde hair and green eyes, and more muscles than most District Three citizens. What's more, he was smart. A good mixture of brains and brawn, he had more than just a fighting chance.

_~District Four~_

District Four was always pleased with their tributes. This year was no exception.

Katriena Lake was eighteen, with long black hair and shining blue eyes. Her looks could easily win her a few sponsors, while her skills could win the rest. She used a bow and arrows with startling accuracy, and had a very high chance of coming out of the arena.

Her district partner, Alexander Mates, was a massive eighteen year old boy with blonde hair and brown eyes. He was skilled with swords, able to use any size or shape or number of them. It was very likely that he could come out.

_~District Six~_

District Six weren't sure if they were worried about their tributes, or confident that they at least had a fighting chance.

Hope Katen was a thirteen year old redhead with green eyes. She was small and skinny from not enough food, but she was also quiet and fast, and could climb trees quickly. She probably wouldn't win, but maybe she could last past the bloodbath.

William Shatern was an eighteen year old blonde with brown eyes. He was strong from working in the factory building trains, and he was fast. He had a good chance of winning, depending on what the arena conditions were.

_~District Eight~_

District Eight was not happy with their tributes, and felt like crying. One had no chance whatsoever of making it out, and the other had a chance, but not a very large one.

Their female tribute was Samantha Cathen, a twelve year old with brown hair and green eyes. She wasn't exceptionally good at anything, except running, and would barely reach a Career's elbow. If she made it out of the bloodbath, it would be a surprise.

Their male tribute was Theodore Williams, a sixteen year old with red hair and blue eyes. He was the most popular boy in his class, but even then no one volunteered for him. He was strong, but compared to some of the other tributes and the Careers, he would only look average. He could make it out of the bloodbath, but it was doubtful that he would win.

_~District Ten~_

District Ten was skeptical about whether or not their tributes had a good chance or not. They seemed weak, but they knew they could surprise people.

Sima Patterson, a fifteen year old girl with brown hair and green eyes, was weak looking, but a quick thinker. She had grown up on a ranch, and had experience jumping out of the way of animals. Maybe this could help her out in the arena.

Otto Sherwood, a thirteen year old boy with red hair and brown eyes, was young, but constantly surprised people with what he could do. A fast learner, who might be able to learn some skills in the training center that could help him out.

_~District Eleven~_

District Eleven had a little more hope in their tributes than most years, but not much. Their tributes were clever, but underfed and not particularly strong.

Sierra Hera, a seventeen year old with dark plaited hair and golden eyes, was fast and smart. She might be able to make it pretty far, maybe even to the end if she got lucky and most of the Careers were killed by someone else.

Lorter Awls, a fourteen year old with dark hair and eyes, was clever and a good hider and climber. He wasn't the strongest however, and if he got injured, he wouldn't be able to heal himself without the help of sponsors.

_~District Twelve~_

District Twelve was still holding hope that they could win again, even after five years. Their tributes this year were complete opposites in every sense of the word.

Coral Hemter was a twelve year old Seam girl, with the typical dark hair, gray eyes and olive skin. She was tiny and quiet, which could help her hide if she made it past the bloodbath.

Holden Duch was an eighteen year old merchant boy, with the typical blonde hair, blue eyes and pale skin. He was tall, strong and outgoing, traits that could attract sponsors.

_~Capitol~_

Colourful people lined the streets, watching the Reapings on large screens, filled with excitement of what looked to be yet another exciting Hunger Games.

**So those are the tributes. Hmm, interesting bunch. Anyone got a favourite? Maybe someone you think will win? I already know who the victor is, but I'd love to know what you guys think! :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**A huge shout out goes to HogwartsDreamer113 and Kate-The-Great-And-Powerful! They are my loyal(and only) reviewers! I love hearing from them, and if you haven't read their stories yet, what are you waiting for?!**

_**~Martin's POV~**_

I push the helmet higher up on my head, out of my eyes. Somehow the stylist just couldn't make it fit. Dana crosses her arms beside me, and scowls at the District Eight tributes, her newest victims of the hour. "What's your problem with them?"

"Not as big as my problem with you!" she snaps back. Dana made it very clear from the beginning that we "ARE NOT FRIENDS" and are "BARELY EVEN ALLIES". She hates the fact that I volunteered. She thinks people shouldn't be allowed to volunteer until they're sixteen in District Two, since anyone younger than that won't know what to do with the glory. _Yeah, some glory. _I didn't volunteer for glory or fortune. I volunteered because the kid who was reaped had a sick little sister, and was close to having enough money to pay for the treatment she needed. He wouldn't have lasted in the Games, so why not send in someone who might stand a chance? I'll probably still die, but I might as well try. Right?

One of the horses for our chariot leans over and takes the helmet off Dana's head. I guess it thought the greenish-gray thing was food. She gives it a murderous glare. "If I had an axe..."

"You'd kill a horse? Really Dana?" I tug the helmet out of the horse's mouth and it nudges my head, disagreeing with me, still convinced it's food. "Nope, not food. Helmet." I hand it back to Dana, who rolls her eyes.

"You're talking to a horse? I knew you were weird. Seriously, they probably won't even let you into the pack."

"You're just jealous that everyone thought I should volunteer when I was twelve."

Dana grabs the front of my shirt. "Don't. Say. That. You're a pathetic fifteen year old boy who will probably die in the bloodbath! I hope I get to kill you!"

She lets go of me, and storms around to get on the chariot. I push my helmet back up again before following her. I don't get why she's so upset. It's not like fifteen year olds have never volunteered before. There was a girl who volunteered for the sixth Games. She made it pretty far too, before she was killed by a mutt.

The District One chariot starts moving, and the tributes look like the classic District One tributes. Undeniably good looking, with confident smirks. The crowd's going to love them. Can't say the same about us though. We're both younger than all the other Careers, as well as younger than most District Two tributes are. Oh, and there's the fact that Dana won't stop glaring.

But when we roll out in front of the crowd, they cheer for us like they do every other year. I grin and wave slightly, trying to ignore the tornado in my stomach. Dana just glares at everyone.

Behind us, the District Three chariot rolls out, the tributes dressed as some type of machine. I'll admit, our mountain costumes were kind of bad, but their unidentifiable machine was even worse. Behind them, comes the District Four chariot. I think their scale like tunics are supposed to look like fish. District Five are power plant workers, I think. District Six wears tunics covered in tiny lights and zigzag patterns that I guess are supposed to look like train tracks. Dana scowls at them. The lights are bright enough that they're getting a lot of attention, but they haven't stolen the show yet. District Seven are trees, just like they are every year. Can't their stylist get more creative? District Eight wears bright tunics with stitching patterns all over, including the hoods the stylists have added. District Nine wears outfits that look like pieces of wheat stuck on top of each other. District Ten are pigs. The boy's fairly young and looks nervous, so the girl leans over and I could swear I saw her pretend to snort. The boy loosens up a bit after that. District Eleven's outfit is pretty cool. Their outfits are stripes of different fruits. Bottom up, apple, banana, peach, plum. The District Twelve tributes are coal miners. Again.

We pull up in front of the President's mansion, and President Snow performs his usual speech. It's the same thing every year, with no changes. Trust me, after listening to it so much during the recaps in training, I have it memorised. First there's the "welcome to the Capitol" part, followed by the "we salute your courage and your sacrifice" bit. Then we leave.

I follow Dana off the chariot and over to the other Careers. The girl from One's taking charge. The silver ring on her head stands out against her flaming red hair. "Okay, tomorrow we're going to have to make sure we intimidate them, and we intimidate them _hard!_" She looks over at the two of us. "Especially you two, since you're younger. Dana, you shouldn't have too much trouble. But Marvin-"

"_Martin."_ I correct her.

"Whatever. You're going to have more trouble, since you're so freaking cheerful."

I can already hear the dislike in her voice. "Sure, I can do that. Intimidating people should be easy."

Aurora scoffs. "Yeah, right."

Obviously she's never seen me throw a spear. I can hit the target from nearly seventy feet away, even though I only tell people I can do forty.

Taurus takes the silver ring off his head, smoothing down the brown hair that's now sticking up because of it. "Hey, let's give the kid a chance. He might at least be able to intimidate the twelve and thirteen year olds, right?"

Aurora scowls. "Right, fine. Just don't screw up."

"Trust me, he will," Dana says, rolling her eyes.

Katriena tucks a strand of black hair behind her ear. "Hey, um, I'll see all of you tomorrow, alright? I think I'm gonna go get some sleep."

Alexander nods at us all. "That goes for me too. Our escort's got this thing about sleep. She's obssesed with-"

But before we can find out what the District Four escort is obsessed with, a colourful woman comes along and ushers Alexander and Katriena inside towards the elevator.

Aurora looks back at Dana and I. "Guess that sums up our meeting. See you tomorrow at training." She and Taurus leave for the elevators as well.

Dana and I are left on our own near the chariot. "So..."

She scowls at me. "So what?"

I shrug. "It's what I say when I don't know what to say."

Dana rolls her eyes for about the fiftieth time in an hour. "Come on, let's go get some sleep."

**Please review and let me know what you think! :)**


	5. Chapter 5

** Everyone, meet Theo! *forces Theo to wave* Of course, you've already met him, he's the boy from Eight! But still! Thank you to Kate and Dreamer for reviewing as always! You guys are amazing! :)**

_**~Theo's POV~**_

I shake my hair out of my eyes for what feels like the fifteenth time in the past hour, and focus on watching the floor countdown in the elevator. _7, 6, 5, 4, 3. Stop. Damn it. We must be picking up the District Three tributes as well. _

The doors open, and the District Three tributes walk in. Sam looks even more scared than she already did. I don't blame her. The girl looks to be about average size, but the boy's almost as big as a Career. And I'm not a scrawny guy either. _You have to admit he's kind of cute..._

_ Shut up!_ I try to block out the tiny voice in my head. I'm not going to check out my possible murderer. Yes, I'm gay, got a problem with that?

_Oh great, now I'm talking to myself..._

The doors to the elevator finally open, and the four of us head into training. _Shit... _The training room is massive, filled with every single weapon imaginable. Swords, maces, knives, axes, spears, bows, arrows, whips, tridents, everything. _This is really happening... I'm really going to go into a fight to the death in a few days..._

All twenty-four of us gather around the Head Trainer, and of course I'm stuck next to the monstrous boy from One. The Head Trainer quickly explains the rules, including the expected "save the fighting for the arena" rule, and then we're allowed to start training. I head towards the maces, and the boy from One follows.

"Gonna try and pick that up little Eight?" he taunts, lifting a mace easily, before starting to whack at a dummy. The dummy sprays fake blood on him, imitating what it would be like on an actual human.

The trainer shows me how to grip the mace and swing, and I take a spot next to the boy, whose already covered in red "blood". I pull the mace back and swing as hard as I can. I make a bit of a dent in the dummy's head, and am "rewarded" with a burst of "blood". The sight makes me feel horrible, imagining it coming from a living being and knowing I'm capable of that kind of damage. The girl from Six stares at me with wide eyes, probably afraid that I'm going to hurt her. She had hit a dummy as well, but in the chest, and only managed to get out a small trickle of "blood". On the other side of her, the boy from Nine is whacking at his dummy, desperately trying to get out enough "blood" to kill it. I realize that out of the four of us, the boy from One's by far the most intimidating, but I'm pretty intimidating myself. That starts to worry me. So I leave the mace station but only for a short while. If it's something I'm already good at, I'll need to practise so I can use it in the arena.

_ No! You aren't going to kill people! You won't sink to their level! _

I go to the edible plants section. _This shouldn't be too hard, right? _Wrong. I pick the wrong berries five times. _Okay, going to need those Cornucopia supplies then..._

I head back to the maces and start clobbering a dummy again. The District One boy hasn't changed stations all morning, and is now completely covered in the fake blood. _I'm doomed... _

I glance over at Sam to see how she's doing. She's over at the sword station, trying to swing the sword with enough force to damage the dummy. She's not doing very well. _I'll be surprised if she makes it out of the bloodbath... _

I shake my head, trying to get those thoughts out of my mind. I'm supposed to be a supportive district partner. Not think that she'll die first.

"Got a problem Eight?" I turn around to see the boy from One glaring down at me. _He's huge... _

I swallow my fear. "No..."

"Sure looks like you had one."

A lot of the other tributes are starting to look over. _What's he doing? Doesn't he realize he's going to get us into trouble? _"Nope, no problem."

"Really? Because it sure looked like it!" He shoves me back slightly.

I stumble, but resist the urge to fight back. "Yeah, no!"

He shoves me again. "Why don't you tell the truth?!"

A few of the trainers start to head over. "I am telling the truth!"

Shove. "No, you're not!"

The trainers are almost here. "I'm not!"

_Slam! _He punches me in the face, and blood gushes out of my nose. The trainers grab the boy and drag him away from me. Another trainer grabs me and forcefully leads me out of the training room. She leads me towards a first aid room, grumbling about tributes who couldn't wait until the arena. The nurse in the first aid room only laughs when told the story though. She then sticks a handful of ice against my nose. "That should keep the swelling down. You'll be able to go back soon."

The trainer stands around awkwardly for a minute before the nurse shoos her away. "I'll take him back when he's ready to go back!"

The trainer scowls, but walks off. "Why can't I go back on my own?"

She smiles slightly. "Well, we can't just let tributes run around on their own, now can we? Who knows what they'll get up to!"

I try not to scowl at her. She makes us sound like we're some kind of rare species that constantly need to be in a cage and under supervision. _Well aren't you? You're their examples. Of how much control the Capitol has over us. If they can force you to kill, they can force the districts to do what they say._

I really wish the voice in my head would just shut up already.

Finally, my nose stops bleeding, and I can go back to training. When I walk in, the first thing I see are the Careers glaring at me.

_Yeah. District Eight's not going to have a victor this year. _


	6. Chapter 6

**THANK YOU FOR ALL THOSE WONDERFUL REVIEWS! Haha, no really, thanks Kate and Dreamer. Theo appreciates the hugs. And to those of you who didn't review, Taurus punches you in the face! **

** Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games, but I do own Maria, Reilly and Yogurt. The "mysterious man" belongs to Kate-The-Great-And-Powerful**

_**~Maria's POV~**_

I push the button in the elevator for the main floor. Reilly finished eating before me, and has already gone downstairs. I use the brief period of time in the elevator to plan what I'm going to do in training today.

I spent most of yesterday at survival stations, and a bit of time at the bow and arrows station. I'm fairly decent at it. Maybe if I practised a little bit more today, I'll be able to use it in my private training session with the Gamemakers. It might help me get a good score.

I step out of the elevator and start walking in the direction that I think is to the training room. Apparently it's not though, because when I open the door, instead of seeing a room filled with teenagers and weapons, I see a room filled with adults, who are all talking together.

One of them, a man with graying light brown hair walks over. "Hello. You're one of the tributes, aren't you?"

I nod. "Maria Feren, District Seven."

One of the men at a nearby table looks up as soon as he hears my name, almost as if he recognizes it. I guess he heard it during the recaps, but no one else reacts to hearing my name, they just keep talking.

The man in front of me smiles. "I'm Yogurt Matthews. I won the twenty-fifth Hunger Games."

I try not to laugh. "Your parents named you Yogurt?"

"Yeah, they were a huge fan of it," he explains, smiling ruefully.

"Didn't you get teased for that?"

He nods. "Twenty-fifth Games. Quarter Quell. All the tributes were voted in by their districts."

My eyes widen. "You were voted to die because of your _name?"_

"It happens. " Yogurt shrugs. "Now, why don't we get you back to training?"

The man who looked up earlier walks over and places his hand on Yogurt's arm, giving him a small shake of the head.

Yogurt frowns slightly. "No? You've got it?" The man gives him a small nod, but Yogurt still seems hesitant. "Alright..."

The man starts to walk back in the direction I assume is to the training hall. I follow him. "Are you a mentor?"

He nods, still not saying anything.

"Which district?" I ask, trying to get him to speak.

He holds up one finger, then two.

"Twelve?" He nods slightly.

I wonder if he's mute. Most people would have actually spoken to respond to that. I can't figure out what Games he won either. "What Games did you win?"

He holds up six fingers. "Sixth?" He nods.

We're at the training room. He gives me a small wave, before starting to walk away.

"Wait!" I call after him.

He glances back over his shoulder, silently asking me what it is.

"What's your name?" He smiles slightly.

"Alder."


	7. Chapter 7

** Thanks to the people who reviewed! Remember, it only takes a few seconds, and makes me really happy! Oh, and NOTE: Reilly's name is pronounced the same as "Riley". It's just spelled differently. **

_**~Alexander's POV~**_

I swing my sword, chopping off yet another dummy's arm. Satisfied that I've "killed" enough dummies for the hour- I'm covered in sticky "blood"- I head over to the edible plants station. The only other person there is the boy from Three. I think his name's something like Max. Mike? Matt? Matt! That's it! No matter what his name is, he's whizzing through the training, getting every answer right. I hesitatingly join him, hoping I get at least a few berries right.

Katriena comes over from the bow and arrow station, leaving the girl from Seven and the boy from Six to train there alone. She leans against the nearby wall. "So you'll be our extra supply picker then?"

I grin at her. "If I can ever figure out which ones are the ones safe to eat," I pick up a handful of dark red berries. "These?"

"Those are nightlock," a voice from behind me says. I turn around to see Matt watching us. He continues. "Highly poisonous. You'd be dead in less than a minute."

Katriena looks annoyed. "What's it to you, Three?"

"Just trying to be helpful," Matt says coolly.

A sudden commotion on the other side of the room distracts Katriena from the argument. Dana's yelling at the small blonde boy from Seven. His name's Really, or something that's spelled like that. Who names their kid Really? At any rate, she's screaming at him like she wants to kill him. What's with the Careers this year? First Taurus with the boy from Eight, and now Dana with Really. At least we're satisfying Aurora by being intimidating.

The trainers lead Dana away before she can damage Really, and now she storms over to us. "That bastard!"

Katriena looks startled. It's not every day you hear a twelve year old midget being called a bastard. "What did he do?"

"He walked into me! I know he did it on purpose!" Katriena and I exchange a glance. Outbursts from Dana like this were starting to be considered normal.

Dana scans the room. "Where are the others?!"

"Martin's at spears, Aurora's at knives, Taurus is at maces," Katriena replies immediately.

Dana glares at me. "Get them."

I try not to roll my eyes as I leave and collect the rest of the Careers. We gather back at the edible plant station. Matt's still there, discreetly listening in, but the others don't take any notice of him.

Dana's still fuming. "I get Seven. I don't care what you think, I get Seven."

"I don't care as long as I get Eight," Taurus says, glaring at where the boy's training with maces. We all follow his gaze, even Matt. The boy's name escapes me. Something with a 'T'. He's covered in the fake blood, hitting the dummy with the mace, again and again.

Aurora nods at Taurus and Dana. "Alright, you two get them. She glances at Katriena and I, ignoring Martin as always. "Anyone you two want?"

We both shake our heads. There hasn't been anyone who's annoyed us yet. Aurora nods again, satisfied. "Good. Private sessions are this afternoon. Make sure you score an eight or higher. Above ten if you can manage it, but those are much harder to get. Just score at least eight, okay? The higher we score, the more intimidated they're going to be."

We all nod, then head towards the lunchroom where we'll eat and then wait for our names to be called for the private training sessions.


	8. Chapter 8

**Here's the next chapter! Expect the interview chapter sometime this weekend!**

_**~Matt's POV~**_

I pace around the lunchroom, waiting for my name to be called. The girl from Two's in there right now, and I keep hearing her words from this morning running through my mind. _I get Seven. _I glance over at Reilly, the boy from Seven. He's a little smaller than Beckham, and has blue eyes instead of pale green, but other than that, they look so similar. Same way of glancing around a room, and grinning. Maybe if they got the chance to meet, they could have been friends. But there's no chance for that. The boy will be dead in a few days, brutally murdered by Two.

My mind goes back to earlier in training, throwing the spears at the target, hitting the center or near the center each time. I'm good at spears. Practically a natural. A spear to the chest would be a much faster death than whatever Two has planned for Reilly. Of course, I could always just tell him, but that would just scare him, and he must already be terrified. Which means I only have one choice really. But could I really do it? Could I really kill someone?

_ You're going to have to, if you want to come home._

But someone that young? He's one of the youngest here, and there seems to be plenty of young tributes this year. Four twelve year olds, four thirteen year olds, two fourteen year olds. Ten in total, and that's not counting fifteen year olds, who fall in the middle category, so could be both young and old. Great, now I'm falling into another one of my nervous tendencies, counting. First comes the pacing, then I start counting things randomly.

"Matthew Brown."

It's time. I walk into the training room. It looks even bigger than it did when all the other tributes were in here. I guess that's part of the intimidating. I head over to the spears and pick one up. I spend most of my session throwing it at the targets, and the rest of the session sorting through the berries and picking out the ones that are edible. Showing that I have offensive skills and survival scores should get me at least a decent score, so probably around a five.

I head back up to the District Three floor to wait for Anna with the mentors. Yogurt seems confident that we'll do decently, whereas Howard, who insists we can him Mr. Jeff, but Anna calls Jeff Jeff behind his back, thinks we'll do miserably and score a two each. They're both sitting on the couch when I come in, so I take a seat next to them, and once Anna gets back, she sits with us too. Finally, the Caesar appears onscreen to tell us our scores.

"From District One, Taurus Cawl, with a score of.. Nine."

I can just picture that idiot looking furious that he most likely didn't get the highest score. He seems like someone who's over competitive, as well as someone with anger issues, if what he did to Eight the first day is anything to go by.

"From District One, Aurora Lee, with a score of... Ten."

Yikes. Yeah, Taurus is going to be pissed about not only being beaten, but also being beaten by his district partner. Then again, Aurora does seem to be in charge of the Careers...

"From District Two, Martin Wing, with a score of... Nine."

And he tied with the fifteen year old. Oh yes, Taurus is going to be pissed. It's so tempting to do something to piss him off even more.

"From District Two, Dana Kild, with a score of... Ten."

No wonder. Now I'm even more worried about Reilly's fate. I just hope I've made the right choice.

"From District Three, Matthew Brown, with a score of... Seven."

I relax. That was a much better score than I was expecting. Anna gives me an envious glance, and "Mr. Jeff" gives an approving nod. "Nicely done."

I grin. Compliments from him are hard to come by.

"From District Three, Anna Parks, with a score of... Six."

Anna frowns, obviously slightly disappointed that I beat her, but Yogurt gives her a reassuring nod. "That's a good score."

Anna nods at him, but she's still frowning.

"From District Four, Alexander Mates, with a score of... Nine."

I remember him at the berry station earlier. He sucked at it. I guess he's got another skill that he's better with.

"From District Four, Katriena Lake, with a score of... Nine."

I remember her as well. A bit of a grouch if I'm remembering correctly, but fairly good looking if her district partner's doe eyes were anything to go by.

"From District Five, Onor York, with a score of... Five."

I don't remember much about the District Five boy, except that he spent most of his time at knives and seemed terrified of his district partner.

"From District Five, Banner Slin, with a score of... Six."

Banner, I remember. Everyone remembers her. She volunteered and she's not from a Career district. It's a little unusual.

"From District Six, William Shatern, with a score of... Seven."

I remember seeing him spend almost all his time at the swords station. He got pretty good at them, winding up covered in blood. He seemed to enjoy in some way, like he was a Career, but had just never trained before.

"From District Six, Hope Katen, with a score of... Four."

Lowest score so far. Oh well. There'll be lower scores, especially as we get to the outer districts.

"From District Seven, Reilly Heven, with a score of... Five."

Five. Not great, but decent enough to get Dana annoyed again. And decent enough to bring up the hopes of his watching family. Hopes that I'm going to have to crush.

"From District Seven, Maria Feren, with a score of... Six."

His cousin. She'll have to watch him die no matter what, but now she'll have to watch someone who's not even a Career kill him. Maybe I could draw him away from her though. Or wait until she's not watching.

"From District Eight, Theodore Williams, with a score of... Seven."

I remember him as well. He was the boy in the elevator the first morning of training, the kid Taurus punched in the face, and the tribute the Careers watched this morning, hitting a dummy with a mace, covered in blood. I don't need to wonder what he did to impress the Gamemakers. He was a natural with that mace for sure.

"From District Eight, Samantha Cathen, with a score of... Three."

Three. Yikes. That's most likely going to be the lowest score, and since she's also only twelve, I doubt she'll make it past the bloodbath.

"From District Nine, Samuel Hudgins, with a score of... Six."

I don't remember too much about him, except that he seemed to know his district partner fairly well.

"From District Nine, Olivia Bon, with a score of... Four."

I'm not too surprised by her score. She's only twelve, and fumbled around with knives a lot, hitting the edges of the target, occasionally getting closer to the center.

"From District Ten, Otto Sherwood, with a score of... Five."

I don't remember too much about him, but I remember a little. He spent half his time at knives and whips, and half his time at rope tying and survival skills.

"From District Ten, Sima Patterson, with a score of... Seven."

A seven. I wonder how she got that. She used knives in training, but only seemed about average with them. Guess she did something extra.

"From District Eleven, Lorter Awls, with a score of... Six."

A pretty impressive score for someone who spent most of his time at survival stations, and only a small amount of time at spears.

"From District Eleven, Sierra Hera, with a score of... Six."

Not bad. She spent most of her time at swords, I think.

"From District Twelve, Holden Duch, with a score of... Seven."

Huh. Higher than most Twelves get. Then again, he was pretty good at axes...

"From District Twelve, Coral Hemter, with a score of... Five."

That's a pretty good score for someone so small.

Yogurt looks over at Anna and I. "See any alliances you want?"

Anna responds immediately. "No. I don't want alliances."

I hesitate, before nodding. "I agree."

If it's so hard to think about killing a kid I don't know, how much harder will it be to kill a kid that I actually know a bit?

**If anyone has tributes whose POV they want to see, let me know!**


	9. Chapter 9

** Thank you for all the amazing reviews! And we had more people reviewing this time than just Kate and Dreamer, which was AWESOME! :) Thanks guys!**

_**~Aurora's POV~**_

I walk onto stage, smiling and waving at the audience. I can see practically every jaw drop by how short my skirt is. And how low the top is. Oh yes, pulling off sexy will be easy. Satin laughed when I asked what my angle was, as if I was stupid to ask. But you can never be sure. My ten might have changed it to vicious and bloodthirsty, but of course, that's Dana's angle.

I sit down in the chair across from Caesar. He raises a turquoise eyebrow at me. "Are you ready Aurora?"

I flash him a winning smile. "I'm always ready."

"Alright. How are you enjoying the Capitol so far?"

I make sure that my voice has that gush in it that everyone will fall for. "Oh, I just love it so far! It's so beautiful!"

Someone in the crowd yells out "LIKE YOU!" and I resist the urge to scream back "SHUT IT!" The interview time is short, and I can't waste any of it.

Caesar chuckles. "Sounds like you've already got a few admirers."

I force myself to smile. "It sounds like it."

"Have you got any back home? Maybe that special someone?"

I toss my hair over my shoulder. "Well, I haven't got a 'special someone', but I _do _have plenty of admirers."

Caesar laughs. "Of course you do! How about family? Ordinary friends that aren't lovers?"

I think about this for a moment. "Well, of course I have a family. They'll be rooting for me of course. As for friends, I have a best friend, however she's moved on to being friends with a boy two years younger than us. I think she was just jealous and desperate."

Caesar heaves a sigh. "Well, that's unfortunate."

"Yes, yes, it is."

"Do you have any alliances planned for the arena?"

"Yes, I'll be with the tributes from Two and Four, as well as Taurus," I smile. "We figured that the strongest tributes should stick together, don't you think?"

Caesar nods, exaggerating his understanding so that the audience can see it. "Yes, yes, I do understand. Very clever."

"Why thank you Caesar. I'll actually be leading the alliance."

"Well, I wish you the best of luck." The buzzer sounds, and Caesar stands up, raising my arm as he does so. "Aurora Lee, your District One tribute!"

The audience cheers, and I walk off stage, confident that I've just gained plenty of sponsors.

_**~Holden's POV~**_

I walk on stage, trying not to let my legs tremble. I may be good at public speaking, but that doesn't mean that I'm not nervous.

Caesar greets me, and we both sit down. "So, Holden, how are you liking the Capitol so far?"

I smile slightly. "It's pretty nice. Quite a difference from Twelve really."

"Yes, I imagine it would be. And what was your life in Twelve like?"

"Well, my parents owned the shoe shop. We sold shoes to people in Twelve. I had an older sister, and a younger one."

Caesar nods. "That sounds nice."

I nod. "Yeah, yeah it was."

"And do you have a token?" I nod. "What is it?"

"It's a necklace. My parents gave it to me before I left. It's been in the family for a while."

Caesar nods. "A family heirloom. Sounds like it's important to you."

I nod. "It is. It's important to my family, so it's important to me."

Caesar smiles. "Ah, a family man, are we?"

I shrug slightly. "I guess you could call me that. I was going to take over the family business, but now I won't have to if I go back a victor."

"You're confident then?" Caesar asks, raising his eyebrows.

"Well, I think I at least have a chance."

"Yes, your seven in training was rather impressive. Would you like to tell the audience how you got that?"

I smile. "Sorry Caesar, but I'm afraid that's confidential."

He chuckles. "That's what they all say! Have you got any alliances planned for the arena?"

"Well, I'm hoping Coral and I will be able to be allies."

"Your district partner?" Caesar confirms. "Not a bad choice." The buzzer sounds. "Ah, we're out of time!" He stands up, holding up my hand. "Holden Duch, your District Twelve tribute!"

**Next chapter is the bloodbath! Should be up tomorrow or Saturday! **


	10. Chapter 10

**Thanks to everyone who's reviewed. Three chapters in a day! That's pretty good! Right? Anyways, here's the bloodbath. *mumbles* Totally didn't cry while writing this...**

The twenty-four metal circles rise up into the arena. To the east, is a huge mountain, with a waterfall crashing down into a huge lake that divides into two rivers, which run off into the forest that makes up the rest of the arena. Deeper in the forest, the rivers divide into smaller streams, but the tributes cannot see them yet. Each tribute wears a pair of sturdy boots, warm cargo pants, a short-sleeved shirt covered by a moderately warm jacket. Warmer jackets are available among the Cornucopia supplies.

The countdown continues. _10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. _"Ladies and Gentlemen, let the 55th Annual Hunger Games begin!"

The gong sounds, and the tributes are off. Almost every single one of them races towards the center, towards the Cornucopia and supplies, but also, towards death.

Reilly grabs a backpack off the ground, and glances around, trying to spot Maria in the throngs of tributes. He could see Olivia and Holden, both running deeper into the bloodbath, but he couldn't see his cousin anywhere. But then he heard her voice.

Matt raises the spear, aiming for Reilly reluctantly. But then a voice reaches his ears.

"REILLY!" Maria screams, running forwards.

She runs between her cousin and the rival tribute. Matt doesn't want to kill her, but it's too late. The spear leaves his hand, flying towards Maria. It hits her in the chest, and she crumples to the ground, lifeless.

"Maria!" Reilly yells, horrified that his cousin's life just ended so suddenly. He looks up and meets Matt's eyes. They reflect his horrified expression, but quickly harden, and he starts running forwards. Reilly reacts instantly, scrambling to his feet and racing off towards the mountain. Just before he leaves the ring of metal plates, he glances back over his shoulder to see what Matt's doing. Matt's run forwards and pulled the spear out of Maria's chest, and has it raised to throw again. Reilly barely dodges in time, the spear landing a little ways in front of him. He runs forward and pulls it out of the ground, and runs off into the relative safety of the mountain, trying to ignore the blood of his cousin on the end of the spear.

Matt runs back into the bloodbath, feeling sick that he's just taken a life, and still hasn't succeeded in saving Reilly.

Lorter runs off into the woods, ready to stick to his plan of just hiding near the Cornucopia and steal from the Careers.

Alexander grabs Sam, just as she's running into the Cornucopia. He flings her to the ground, then raises his sword, and drives it through her chest. He pulls it back out again, sticky with blood, but not the fake stuff from training. Real. Blood. It makes his stomach churn.

Anna pulls up the straps of the backpack, then glances around, looking for the safest way out of the bloodbath. There was an opening that would let her run into the forest. She runs through it, reaches the forest, and keeps running, knowing that she's not safe yet.

Hope runs into the forest, pulling on the backpack as she runs, once she's about three feet into the woods, she climbs a tree and stays there, keeping an eye out for the directions that the tributes run into the woods or mountain.

Katriena grabs Olivia by the back of her jacket and throws her a little ways away. Olivia panics, and starts screaming for Sam. "Sam! Sam, help!"

Sam looks over from where he was grabbing a mace. "I'm coming!"

He runs over, distracting Katriena for a moment. This moment of distraction is all Olivia needs. Panicking, she scrambles to her feet and runs off into the forest, forgetting about Sam. Once in the shelter of the trees, she's violently sick, due to having a weak stomach and the sight of so much blood.

Sam tries to fight Katriena, but he's greatly overpowered, since she's not only a Career, but also four years older than him. But it is not Katriena who will kill him.

Aurora picks up the knife vest from just inside the Cornucopia, and pulls it on quickly, scanning the area for her first victim. She spots Sam and Katriena fighting, and pulls out a knife. Determined not to let Katriena have her kill, she aims the knife at Sam's back and throws.

The cool metal of the blade is the last thing Sam ever feels.

Sima grabs the backpack at the same time as another tribute. She looks up and finds herself staring at Taurus. Annoyed that a tribute who will have limitless supplies is trying to take hers, she strikes outwards, slamming her arm into his face. He stumbles backwards, and she races off into the woods.

Matt slings the backpack over his shoulder. He doesn't have time to grab another spear. There aren't many tributes left at the Cornucopia, and anyone who sticks around is sure to be killed. He'll need to grab some more supplies and just wish for the best. He spots a sleeping bag not too far away. He'll grab that and then get out of here.

But he grabs it at the same time as another tribute. He finds himself looking up into the blue eyes of the boy from Eight, Theo. He seems to be a bit better prepared than matt, since he has a mace along with a pack. Matt doesn't want to get his head smashed in so soon, so he says the first thing that comes to his mind. "Allies?"

Theo hesitates. He holds the advantage since he has a weapon and Matt doesn't, but he's not willing to start killing so early in the Games. He quickly nods. Matt slings the sleeping bag onto his shoulder, and the two boys race off for the woods.

Dana grabs an axe from the top of one of the crates and spins it around in her hands, glancing around for a tribute. She spots Coral, and knocks her to the ground. Coral stares up at her, terrified. Dana smirked. This was going to be easy.

Unfortunately, she didn't notice Holden running out of the Cornucopia, until he ran over and picked her up, giving Coral the chance to escape into the woods. Dana screamed as many threats as she could think of at Holden, but he didn't pay any attention to her. Instead, he just threw her into the Cornucopia, where she rolled across the ground before hitting the back of it. She scrambled to her feet and curled her lip at him. "You are so dead, Twelve!"

She threw the axe in her hand at him, but luckily he was a good dodger. It soared past him, and instead buried itself in Sierra's chest, as she was fleeing from the bloodbath. Holden looks startled for a few seconds, before grabbing an axe from the ground and running into the woods after Coral, Dana screaming threats from behind him.

***sighs* Four dead. But that's not all the dead for Day One. There's still one more coming. Find out who next chapter. **


	11. Chapter 11

** Okay, before I give you guys the chapter, I want to give a HUGE thank you to Kate-The-Great-And-Powerful who did the AMAZING cover art for this story! Thanks Kate! :)**

_**~Anna's POV~**_

I scramble over a fallen tree, and sit down in the alcove formed between it and a patch of rocks. I pull the backpack off my shoulders, and open it up. Inside is a wire that I immediately use to make a snare, a pack of matches, a knife which I stick in my belt so it'll always be handy, a blanket which I put to the side for later, a package of crackers which I open and eat one of, and a water bottle and some iodine. The water bottle's empty of course, so I stick it back into my pack along with the iodine, crackers, blanket and matches, and then I head off to find some water.

I find a stream not too far from where I stopped, and I fill up my water bottle there. I go through the steps to purify the water, and then, I head back to the fallen tree. Once I'm there, I pull the blanket out of my pack and wrap it around my shoulders, preparing myself for what is sure to be a long next few weeks.

_**~Banner's POV~**_

I scramble into the small cave I spotted. It slopes down a bit, causing me to be a bit lower than ground level. I put my axe down, still shiny and unmarked from blood, and pull the backpack off. Inside is an empty water bottle, water purification tablets, a package of crackers, a loaf of bread wrapped in plastic, an extra pair of socks, a first aid kit and a blanket. I pull off a small chunk of the bread and eat it, figuring it would be better while it's still fresh. Then I pull on my extra pair of socks, grab my axe and water bottle, and go off looking for that stream I passed on my way here.

_**~Theo's POV~**_

We run through the forest for a while, until we eventually stop, doubled over and gasping for breath. The boy from Three looks up at me. "What's your name?"

"Theo. Just Theo." I've always hated my full name. I don't mind my nickname, but my full name bothers me for some reason.

The boy nods at me. "Nice to meet you. I'm Matt."

I nod. "Nice to meet you too. Three, right?"

"Yeah. You're Eight. What's it like there?" He asks as he pulls the pack and sleeping bag off his back.

"It's pretty nice. A few trees, a muddy lake, lots of factories. Usual stuff y'know. But it's... Home. What Three like?" I pull off my pack and open it.

Matt pulls a package of matches and a pair of what looks like sunglasses out of his pack. "Sounds like Three's kind of similar to Eight. Factories, dirt. Smoke. But it's got that sense of home."

I nod and point to the sunglasses. "What're those?"

He grins. "Night vision goggles. We churn out a few thousand pairs of these each day. I've helped make a few pairs."

"Really? That's cool!"And I'm not lying. The fact that he can make stuff is totally cool.

He smiles. "Thanks. What did you do in Eight? Did you work in the factories, or go to school?"

I rummage around in my pack as I answer. "I was still in school for most of the day, but I still had to work in the factories for a couple of hours at the end of the day." I pull a package of dried fruit and a water bottle out of the pack. "What about you?"

"My parents forced me to stay in school until I was out of the Reaping. That would have been a few days ago. I wanted to leave school, since my family needed more money. We had eight kids. Me, Quinn, May, Becca, Beckham, Kylie, Connor and June. Becca and Beckham are twins. Barely enough food for all of us and our parents. But since I'm a genius," Matt sighs, "my parents told me I had to stay in school for as long as I could. The end of the Reapings was our compromise. Of course, that never happened. But it was a happy thought that I could make it out. My name was in there 77 times this year. But anyways, I worked in the factories for a few hours after school anyways, to bring in extra money."

I blink a few times, startled. "Wait... What?"

He smiles slightly. "What part? Seven siblings, genius, 77 times, or another bit?"

"That's just... wow."

He shrugs as he pulls an extra pair of socks and a package of beef strips out of his pack. "Yeah, I guess it is. Feels fairly normal to me. I mean, I've never not been in a huge family, never not been looking after my siblings, and never not been a genius. It's just what I'm used to." He glances up at me. "I don't feel any different if you're wondering. I don't _feel _like a genius. I just feel like... me."

"Still pretty impressive." I say, pulling water purification tablets and a blanket out of my pack.

He smiles slightly. "Thanks. What about you? What's your life in Eight like? Family? A girlfriend?" His smile widens slightly at the last bit, turning slightly teasing.

My hand automatically flies to the scar on my forehead, covered by my overgrown bangs. I can still remember the look of anger and horror on Seth's face when he gave it to me, the last time we spoke when we were fourteen. "Ah, no. No girlfriend. I do have a family though."

"Yeah? What are they like?" Matt pulls a tarp and a first aid kit out of his pack.

"They were okay. My parents worked at the factory for most of the day, so I never really saw them too much. My sister, Eva, worked as well, but not for as long. She worked while my brother, Luke, and I were at school, and then we switched so Eva was making sure that Luke wasn't getting into trouble, and I worked at the factory for a few hours." I explain as I pull a pair of binoculars and some granola bars out of my pack. I give him a teasing grin. "How about you? Got a special girl waiting for you back home?"

He shakes his head, shifting through his pack. "Just my friend Jemma. But we're friends, and that's it."

I nod. "I get the feeling."

Matt looks like he's about to answer, when a grin spreads across his face. "There we go!" He pulls a knife out his pack. "We've got something other than your mace. Are there any weapons in your pack?"

I check my pack. Sure enough, at the very bottom of it there's a blow gun and a small pouch. I pull them out, and open up the pouch. Inside are a few rows of darts, about ten in each row. I pull one out and examine it. "Think it's poisonous?"

"Yeah, probably. They probably wouldn't put out any weapons that don't do anything except puncture the skin."

"But what about in the Quell? The girl had to find poisonous stuff to make hers deadly."

Matt frowns. "Good point." He glances up at a bird in a nearby tree. "Why don't we try it out then?"

I stick one of the darts into the gun, point it at the bird and blow. Three seconds later, the bird falls to the ground, dead.

Matt smiles. "Looks like we've got a hidden advantage."

I grin. We definitely do.

_**~Reilly's POV~**_

I scramble across the mountain, finally running out of air and collapsing behind a rock when I feel like I'm far enough away. I grad a handful of dry leaves from the ground and get to work scrubbing Maria's blood from the end of the spear. My stomach churns, and I push vomit down. I close my eyes, but the image just flickers below my eyelids. I fight back tears, knowing that crying won't help me at all. And that's not what she would have wanted. Maria would have wanted me to stay strong for her. So I do what she would have wanted me to do. I decide to fight and stay in the game as long as I can.

I shrug the backpack off my shoulders and undo the clasps holding it shut. Inside are beef strips, a bottle of pills, a pair of extra socks, a long sleeved shirt, a length of rope, and, at the very bottom, a blow gun and a pouch of darts. I pull on the extra socks over the pair I'm already wearing, and pull the shirt over my head and put my jacket back on over top of it. Then I quickly eat a beef strip before sticking the rest of them back in my pack along with the rope and pills. I thread the pouch of darts through my belt so it's at my waist, then sling my pack and blowgun over my shoulder. Spear in hand, I set off across the mountain again.

_**~Olivia's POV~**_

I finish throwing up, and set off through the woods. My stomach's still churning from the sight of all that blood. I eventually find a small cave where the woods start turning into mountain. There's not too much cover here, so I go inside quickly. Once inside, I pull off my pack and start to sort through it. I find some bandages, which I wrap around the few injuries the girl from Four was able to give me before Sam came to help. _Sam. _I chew on my bottom lip, hoping that he was able to make it out alright. If he didn't, it would be all my fault.

I find a water bottle in my pack, half full of water. I take a quick drink, rinsing the taste of vomit from my mouth. I sort through the rest of my pack, pulling out a length of wire, a package of trail mix, and a pair of extra socks. I pull off my boots, and pull the socks up over the pair I'm already wearing to keep my feet warm. The arena seems to be more dry than wet, so it doesn't seem very likely that I'll have to use them if my other pair gets wet. I pull my boots back on again, and stick the wire, trail mix and water bottle back into my pack, getting ready to wait nervously for something to happen.

_**~Onor's POV~**_

I stay hidden between the crates, watching the rest of the tributes run off into the woods. I was a little too slow grabbing the pack that's now on my back, so now I'm stuck until the Careers go out hunting. The boy from One seems pissed off about a bloody nose that the girl from Ten gave him. I could swear I heard the boy from Two, who's currently leaning against the Cornucopia a few feet away from me, mutter "Karma."

The girl from Two scowls down at the dead body of the girl from Seven. "Who got Seven?" The other Careers just shrug at her. She gives the body a small kick. "Doesn't matter anyways, she's not the one I wanted."

I grit my teeth, resisting the urge to yell _That's a girl's dead body, show more respect! _at her. The Careers seem to be fairly distracted though, not looking towards the Cornucopia, so I decide to take a chance. I start to head out from between the crates, when there's a thump from one beside me. I look up to see the boy from Two grinning down at me, spear in hand. "Looks like we've got ourselves a stray!"

The other Careers look over at us and grin, quickly coming over and surrounding me. The boy from Two stays on his crate, grinning down at me. "What'd you get in training Five?"

"Don't play with your food Martin." His district partner snaps at him.

I swallow, trying to get my voice to work. "F-five..."

Martin's grin widens. "A five for Five! That's cool! What'd you use?"

"Knives." Why does he want to know this?

He grins at the girl from One. "Knife please." She smirks at hands him a knife from her vest. He hands it to me. "If you hit any of the trees in the first line, we'll let you stay."

I take the knife and nervously stand up. I aim, and throw it at one of the trees. It misses, going just into the forest. The Careers smirk at me, and Martin gives me a pitying look, maybe regretting that he'll have to kill me. But then there's a cry of pain from the woods, and the Careers race off into them, yelling at each other as they run, forgetting all about me.

I quickly race off into the woods, trying to get as far away from the Cornucopia before the Careers come back. I get maybe a mile in, when the boy from Six steps out of a bush and drives a scythe through my heart.

_**~William's POV~**_

I pull the scythe out of the boy from Five's chest and clean the blood off it using some of the dry leaves on the ground. Then I cut the pack from his back and sort through it.

I already got a blanket, bandages, socks, trail mix, beef strips and a water bottle from the pack I grabbed, as well as a warm coat I found in the Cornucopia. Inside the boy's pack I find a pack of matches, more bandages and trail mix, another water bottle, and a knife. I grin and slide the knife into my belt. With this and my scythe, I'm very prepared for the arena.

_**~Lorter's POV~**_

I try to pull the knife out of my leg as I run. The boy from Five might have been lucky enough to have escaped the Careers, but now they're on my trail and I might not be so lucky. I spot a small cave up ahead and roll into it just in time. The Careers go thundering past, not even noticing that they're no longer chasing me. I rip the knife out of my leg, and watch the blood trickle out. There's dirt in the wound as well from rolling into the cave, and it'll take the help of sponsors to heal it. I can only hope that I was lucky enough to get some.

_**~Hope's POV~**_

As soon as the boy from Five disappears into the trees, I jump down from the tree I was hiding in, and race off into the woods. Once I feel like I'm far enough away from everyone else, I scale a nearby tree, and hide among the leaves. I pull the pack off my shoulders, and start sorting through it. Granola bars, a blanket, extra socks, and a slingshot. Not much, but I wasn't expecting very much from a small pack. I pull on the extra socks, and wrap the blanket around my shoulders. The dry weather here means that temperatures will be dropping soon, and they'll be dropping fast. And I had better be prepared.

_**~Otto's POV~**_

I hide in a bush beside a stream. I'm close enough to a water supply that I'll be able to get water whenever I need it, and there's a patch of berries that I'm fairly sure are edible not too far away. I pull the sleeping bag off my shoulder, and lay it out on the ground. I glance at the whip in my right hand. It's made of dozens of tiny dual blades. If someone got whipped with this, it would sting like... Well, it would sting a lot, and I could probably also coil it around wrists or ankles. This whip could come in handy. I just hope I don't have to use it.

_**~Coral's POV~**_

Holden eventually finds a spot in the woods near the base of the mountain that provides enough cover and is far enough away from the Cornucopia that the Careers aren't likely to find us soon. He pulls the backpack off his shoulders and sets his axe on the ground. "Did you grab anything?"

I reach up into my sleeve and pull out the tarp I was able to grab. "It's not much. Sorry."

"It's fine. You did what you could." Holden starts sorting through the pack. "Blanket." He hands it to me. "Wrap that around your shoulders, it's going to get cold soon." I do as he says. He keeps pulling things out of the pack. "Granola bars. Bandages. Wire. Water bottle. Tin of something." He opens up the tin. "Looks like berries."

I hold out my hand. "Can I see?"

He hands it to me, and I pick up one of the berries and roll it around between my fingers before nodding. "It's safe to eat."

Holden nods. "Good. Okay, so you take the berries, wire and a few granola bars, and stick them in your pockets. That way if we get separated, you'll still have supplies, and I'll carry the rest in the backpack."

"Should we take turns carrying the backpack?"

He shakes his head. "I've got it. It'll just weigh you down if you have to run, and I'm already faster than you as it is."

I nod. This makes perfect sense, and I may as well listen to Holden. He's seen more Hunger Games than I have, and might know a few tricks that'll get one of us out of here alive.

_**~Sima's POV~**_

I throw the sleeping bag and backpack to the ground, and follow a second later, gasping for breath. The run through the forest has exhausted me, but I need to check my backpack to find out what supplies I have. I sit up and undo the clasps. Matches. Those'll be good when it gets cold, which it looks like it will. Bandages. I'll need those if I get in a fight. A full water bottle. Good, I'll need water to survive. A pack of dried fruit. Food, good. I wasn't too good at the edible plant station in training. A length of rope. This has multiple uses. And a long sleeved shirt. I pull it over the shirt I'm already wearing and pull my jacket back on. Then I stick my supplies back in my backpack and get ready for the Hunger Games to throw whatever it has planned at me.

**Hope you enjoyed this extra long chapter!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Okay, here's a somewhat fillerish chapter, but there's also kind of a point to it. We're only going to see one alliance this time, so of course, I chose my favourite :) Anyways, thank you to anyone who reviewed, you guys are awesome! And just a general reminder, this is not an SYOT! I came up with all 24 tributes myself. **

The anthem plays, and the Capitol's seal appears in the sky. It fades away and the face of Onor York replaces it, 'District Five' shining beneath him. He fades and Maria Feren replaces him, 'District Seven' shining beneath her. She fades away, and Samantha Cathen appears, 'District Eight' shining below her. Samuel Hudgins replaces her, 'District Nine' shining below him. He is replaced by Sierra Hera, who has 'District Eleven' shining below her. Finally, she too fades away, and the sky is empty except for the moon.

_**~Matt's POV~**_

I stare up at the sky. Only about a minute ago, Maria's face was staring down at me. The lump of guilt in my stomach seems to have grown, and I don't think it'll be going away anytime soon.

Theo appears beside me. "Want me to take first watch?"

I shake my head. "No, get some sleep. I'm not very tired." Which isn't entirely a lie. I don't think I _could _sleep, knowing that I'm the reason a thirteen year old girl won't be sleeping tonight.

Theo gives me a worried look. "Are you sure?"

I nod. "Positive. Go to sleep, I'll wake you in a couple of hours." Which I have no intention of doing. Let the kid sleep while he can.

He gives me a final doubting glance before heading under the tarp. We've set it up at an angle so it'll protect us from the wind, as well as whatever rain or snow the Gamemakers set on us. Theo passes me the blanket and climbs into the sleeping bag. I wrap the blanket around my shoulders, put on the night vision glasses, and settle down for a long night.

I turn the knife over and over again in my hands while I watch the younger boy fall asleep. He uses his arm as a pillow, a position that looks both comfortable and uncomfortable. I wish he wasn't in here with me. He's a good kid, and doesn't deserve to die. And even if he makes it out of here, he doesn't deserve the terrible aftermath of the Games. I don't know what it is about the boy, but he's managed to break through my walls. Normally I wouldn't tell people that much right off the bat. But I told him. There's something about him that just makes me trust him. Maybe it's his friendly nature, or maybe it's that since he's younger than me, I feel the need to protect him. He's the same age as Quinn, but looks nothing like him. Quinn has dark brown hair and the same pale green eyes as me, while Theo has flaming ginger hair and bright blue eyes. But they both have the same curious glint in their eyes, and maybe that's what's making it so easy for me to trust him. But I know it's not that. It's just him. He's managed to break through my barriers somehow, making me trust him.

I look away from him. If I watch him too long, my defenses will go down, making it easy for him to worm his way into my heart, making it impossible to kill him. Besides, who knows when the Careers will go hunting?

I try to focus on watching the trees for any sign of the six Careers, but my brain keeps going back to my unanswered question.

_How am I going to be able to kill Theo?_


	13. Chapter 13

** Here's a depressing chapter. Sorry guys :(**

_**~Martin's POV~**_

I wake up to the blade of an axe slamming into the ground inches from my head. "Shit Dana, it's day two, are you that desperate for a kill?"

Dana looks even more pissed off at my comment. "I already have one, that little bitch from Eleven. You don't have any yet though. Too scared?"

I give her my carefree grin. "Nah, I'm letting you guys have the easy ones. I'll have my fun later." In reality, I'm trying to put off killing tributes until I'm forced to.

Dana scowls. "Whatever. Aurora wants you to get ready. We're going hunting."

I sit up, trying to rub the sleep out of my eyes and keep an eye on the other Careers at the same time. Aurora and Taurus are already ready to go, and are pacing the edge of the forest, while Katriena and Alexander make sure their weapons are clean. For Katriena, this also involves making sure she has the full dozen of her arrows. "In broad daylight? They'll be awake, it'll be harder to sneak up on them."

"I thought you were up for some fun?" Dana smirks at me, before walking off to join Aurora and Taurus. The District One tributes have been fairly touchy lately, especially since we not only lost District Five, but someone else killed him, and we never managed to find whoever he injured.

I run through the surviving tributes in my head. All six of the Careers, both tributes from Three, Six, Ten, and Twelve, the girls from Five and Nine, and the boys from Seven, Eight and Eleven. Nineteen of us left. Not the average number on the second day, but also not too far from it. I grab my spears off the ground beside me, and head over to join the rest of the Careers.

Aurora scowls at me. "About time. We've got to make at least one kill today to make up for yesterday's disaster. If we keep this up, there'll be a feast on day five."

I resist the urge to roll my eyes. She's exaggerating again. We're not doing too badly as a Career pack.

I guess I must have said that last part out loud, because the rest of the Careers stare at me.

"Let's review our failures," Aurora says. "First of all, only _three _of us have actually made a kill. We've let two tributes slip through our fingers. A tribute was killed in the bloodbath, and we _still _don't know who killed her, which means we have at least one strong tribute out there, probably the same one who killed Five. Oh, and only _one _of the _four _twelve year olds has been killed so far. Do you see the problem?"

I try my hardest not to scoff. Instead, as seriously as I can, I say, "Yeah, sorry Aurora. I get it now."

Aurora nods, still scowling. "Damn right you do, you idiotic fifteen year old."

_ Well that's one way to make friends. It's so hard to believe why your best friend didn't want anything to do with you Aurora._

But even with those thoughts echoing in my mind, I still follow her and the rest of the Careers into the forest to hunt.

_**~Hope's POV~**_

I jump down from the tree, landing lightly on my feet. It doesn't hurt as much as it did when I first started jumping from up high. When I first started, by jumping out the window of my room at the orphanage, the landing made tiny jolts of pain travel through my feet and up my body. But as I got better at it, and as I got braver, I was able to jump from higher heights, and the pain no longer came. Or maybe it did, and I just didn't notice anymore because I was so used to it.

The ground here is much softer than what I'm used to landing on. Ever since I started running away from the orphanage instead of just sneaking out, most of my jumps were from the second story window of my factory manager's office. Every day, just before he took his lunch break, I would sneak away from my station, and up the stairs to his office. The first time I tried this, it took me ages to find his lunch. After a year or so though, I've figured out that he always keeps it in the second right hand drawer. I never steal the whole thing, just some cheese, or a bun, or an apple. Then I would jump out his window, and the cheese/bun/apple would become my lunch. My breakfast and dinner, if I got any, would be whatever I could steal in the market, or buy with my wages. The manager noticed of course, but he never knew it was me. The day before the Reaping, he was coming up the stairs when I jumped. Maybe he saw me, and reported me to the Peacekeepers, and that was why I was Reaped. Or maybe it was just the tesserae.

I'll never know now.

I set off through the woods, keeping an eye out for any edible plants. I was never brave enough to venture beyond the fence like some people do, but I got a bit of food close to the fence, but on the side where we're allowed. What I don't recognize from back home, I recognize from training. I was good at identifying the plants, and I was good at climbing, but I'm not good at fighting. Hence my low score.

Around noon, I find a bush of blackberries, and I settle down to eat some "lunch". I'm not sure if there's any other tributes around, so I stay as quiet as I can. It isn't hard. I'm used to staying quiet to stay out of trouble.

Once I've eaten as many berries as I want, I grab a handful of leaves and wrap them around a couple of handfuls of berries. I might as well carry a few with me. Who knows the next time I'll find a bush?

I head off into the woods again, making sure I'm as quiet as possible. I'd rather be in the safety of the trees, but staying still would drive me nuts, and jumping from tree to tree to travel sounds like a good way to break my leg.

The forest has been pretty quiet so far today. No sounds of fighting, and no cannons. I guess the Careers haven't gone hunting yet, or they've just been very unlucky. I just have to _hope _that they stay unlucky. Haha, get it? _Hope._

I've never really _disliked_ my name, but sometimes I wish my name meant _hope_, but wasn't actually _Hope. _Maybe something like Asha, or maybe even Aki. Those mean hope, but the meaning isn't stated right in the name.

The sun starts to set in the sky, and I settle down on a log to eat a few of the berries and a granola bar. The forest remains silent, and I try to enjoy it while I still can.

When I'm done eating, I make sure that there's no trace of me around the log. Once I'm satisfied, I head off into the forest again, looking for a good place to stop for the night. Before too long, I hear voices.

The Careers.

I glance over my shoulder. They're coming up the hill behind me, but they haven't seen me yet. They seem to be arguing with each other, probably about the fact that they haven't killed anyone yet today.

And I'm an easy target.

My first choice would be to climb into a tree where it would be harder for them to reach me. But that would take longer, and they would be more likely to spot me. Instead, I duck into a nearby bush.

The Careers keep walking up the hill, arguing loudly. They're getting closer and closer to my bush, and I curl up into a ball, trying to make myself smaller so there's less of a chance that they'll notice me. I freeze when my arm brushes against the leaves, causing them to rustle. I close my eyes tightly, anticipating the sword that will soon drive itself into my back when they find me.

The Careers' footsteps have stopped. "Did you hear that?" one of them asks.

"Yeah, it sounded close."

"Hold on a second..."

I feel a hand grab my braid and drag me out of the bush. "It's Six! The little Six!"

I open my eyes. Five of the Careers are in front of me, grinning. The sixth, the boy from Four, is behind me, holding onto my braid so that I can't run away.

The girl from One smirks at me. "Let her go Alexander. We're going to have some fun with her."

The boy- Alexander- does as she asked, but he doesn't just let go. He flings me away, so that I go tumbling through the forest. I crash into a tree, and I'm positive my ribs just cracked. I try to get up, but it hurts, and my side stings when I breathe.

The Careers come running through the trees towards me, and I try to drag myself away before they get here. But it's no use. The girl from Two yanks me to my feet. "Come on Six! Fight!"

I gasp for air, my side on fire. "What do you expect me to fight with?"

The girl from One laughs and tosses me a knife. "Now come on Sixy!"

The girl from Two shoves me forwards, and I go crashing to the ground again. The pain in my side is just getting worse and worse, and the world spins around me. I try my best not to hurl. The boy from One yells at me. "Get up! It's no fun if you just lie there!"

But my legs don't work, and I just stay there, on my hands and knees, trying not to scream in agony. A second later, the cool blade of a knife slides between my ribs, and the voice of the girl from One hisses in my ear. "He said _get up!"_

The blade of the knife pushes up against my ribs, and I struggle into a standing position, the girl from One supporting me with the knife. I suddenly realise that I'm crying. When did that start? Luckily, the tears are silent, otherwise they might yell at me for that as well.

The world's spinning slows down enough for me to see that all the Careers have their weapons out. The boys from Two and Four are looking at each other hesitantly though, as if they're wondering if they should tell the others to hurry it up. The spinning speeds up again before I can be sure though, and all I'm aware of is their yelling voices, and the blinding pain in my side. That might kill me before they do.

The girl from One grabs my shoulder so that I don't fall back down as she pulls the knife out from between my ribs. "Come on, now _fight!"_

She shoves me forwards again, and I feel the ground lurch beneath my feet, and then something cool and metallic slide into my chest.

I have enough life left to look into the apologetic brown eyes of the boy from Four. And just enough thought left in my head to think, _Thank you Alexander. _


	14. Chapter 14

** Here's another depressing chapter. I'm sorry for all the sadness. I'll try and post a happier chapter at some point soon, but there'll probably be a few more sad chapters before that happens. Sorry guys :(**

_**~Reilly's POV~**_

It's now day five in the arena. The past two days have been quiet, which means the Capitol will be sending something after us before long. I just have to hope that it misses me.

I pull my backpack on and grab the spear. All the blood's finally gone away, and now it's just silver. Doesn't stop me from feeling sick every time I look at it though.

I start walking, but freeze almost instantly, listening. There it is again. A low growl. Coming from the patch of thorny bushes beside me.

I hold my breath and turn very, very slowly. _Relax, Reilly, relax. SHIT!_

A pair of yellow eyes are suspended in the bushes. They're glowing, and are quite possibly the creepiest things I've ever seen. Except maybe the monkeys that killed Zander. Suddenly, whoever the eyes belong to leaps out of the bush and knocks me over.

I slam into the ground, the thing pinning me with its claws. I struggle, trying to reach the spear that was knocked out of my grip when I fell. _It's not that far away, if I could just reach it..._

I let out a scream of pain as the thing rakes it's claws down my side. Blood gushes out of the wound, and I try even harder to get away. The thing buries it's teeth in my shoulder, and I let myself go limp, trying to make it believe that I'm dead.

It must have worked, because the thing flings me away. I tumble across the ground, dirt getting in my wounds. I struggle to my feet, stumbling, my head spinning from how much blood I've already lost. My eyes finally focus on the thing that attacked me. _Oh crap..._

It's a jaguar. A massive jaguar. It's claws are coated in my blood and are digging into the ground and have got to be at least five or six inches long. It bares it's teeth at me, and the teeth have to be about three inches long. It leaps at me again, but this time I jump out of the way in time, cool wind brushing my cheek as it goes by. I scramble across the clearing. _Please, please, please, make it there in time._

My hand wraps around the shaft just as the jaguar leaps again. I spin the spear around and bury it into the jaguar's stomach as it lands on me. I fall to the ground, and the spear buries itself deeper, all the way through the jaguar and out it's back. The mutt goes limp, and I shove it off me, pulling the spear back out again.

I stare down at the jaguar mutt. It can't be the only one. Usually mutts travel in groups. Which means...

I barely realize it before I hear the low growl. I spin around quickly. Three jaguar mutts are on the cliff ridge above me. I don't even hesitate, I just turn around and run. Three thumps behind me lets me know that they're following.

I race across the mountain towards the small line of woods that I can just see. If I can get there before the mutts get me, I can climb into a tree, and maybe they'll get bored with me.

I'm almost at the tree line, and my lungs are burning, when I hear the yelling. Looking over to my right, I can spot two other tributes running down the mountain towards the trees as well. The first is a blonde boy, probably around eighteen. The second, much smaller, tribute, is a girl with dark brown hair. The District Twelve tributes. Coral and Holden. Holden slows down occasionally to help Coral along, but the mutts are gaining on them, and fast. I look behind me. The three mutts have been joined by a fourth, and although they're too close for comfort, I'm doing better than the others.

I reach the first tree. It's not as high as I was hoping, but it'll have to do. I drop the bloody spear at the bottom of the tree, and climb up. The mutts snap at my heels, but they can't reach me. I look over to see how Coral and Holden are doing.

Holden's helping Coral into another tree. She slips slightly, and he swings her foot up so that she's crouching safely in the tree. She holds out her hand. "Grab on!"

I can hear the tears in her voice. She knows it's too late. And he knows it too. The mutts surround their tree. I try to look away, but as with most disasters, I'm frozen, wanting to look away, but unable to. Holden turns around to face the mutts. Coral screams at him to not give up so easily, to at least try. The mutts jump. And I can finally move again.

I turn around on my branch so I'm facing the opposite direction than the District Twelve tributes, and close my eyes. Coral's screaming, and screaming, and screaming. I cover my ears, and focus on breathing. The smell of blood is heavy in the air, and I gag. It feels like it's choking me, and I uncover my ears long enough to pull my shirt over my mouth and nose. Coral's still screaming. Has she closed her eyes? Or is she watching? I hope she's closed her eyes, and is just screaming because she knows what's happening. I cover my ears again, and try not to scream myself. My shirt doesn't help too much. The smell of blood still gets through, as well as the weaker scent of the jaguar mutts. I open one of my eyes. The mutts at the bottom of my tree have left, tempted by the easier prey.

I'm not sure how long we're there for. Half an hour, an hour, two hours. Probably around an hour and a half. But it feels like days. And all that time, I stay in my tree, listening to Coral scream, and Holden moan in pain, until finally, finally, his cannon sounds.


	15. Chapter 15

** Sorry for last chapter! Here's another depressing chapter :(**

_**~Coral's POV~**_

I stay in the tree, trembling, tears pouring down my face. The mutts run off into the woods, and the hovercraft comes down to retrieve Holden's broken and mangled body. And that's when I lose it.

"Stop! Let him go! Get away from him!" I scream, reaching out to try and grab hold of my district partner's twisted leg. I fall out of the tree, landing in the pool of Holden's blood on the ground. The red and sticky blood seeping into my jacket, and pants, and hair, just makes me scream even more. "Bring him back! Don't take him! Leave him alone! Let him go!"

A noise behind me makes me look up and over my shoulder. The small boy from Seven is standing at the base of a nearby tree. He must have climbed it to get away from the mutts. He reaches down and picks up a bloody spear from the ground. The shaft is broken close to the end, probably from the mutts stepping on it, if they tried to reach him in the tree. "H-help..." I whisper hoarsely. "D-don't let them take him..."

He looks up, meeting my gray eyes with his blue ones. "I'm sorry." Then he runs off, the woods swallowing him up.

I stay there on the ground, lying in a pool of blood for a little while longer, until a beeping noise makes me look up. A silver parachute is coming down from the sky, heading towards me. I scramble to my knees, reaching up for it. It lands in my hands, and I undo the clasps of the metal container. Inside is another container, smaller than the first, and designed to keep heat in. I unscrew the lid. Inside is broth, warm, and smelling better than anything I think I've ever smelt in my life. Definitely better than the berries and granola bars I've been living on for the past five days. I close my eyes and tilt my head up towards the sky. "Thank you Alder..." I murmur hoarsely. My mentor's come through to me.

I pull the spoon out of the container attached to the parachute, and spend the next ten minutes sipping the broth. The warmth from it fills me from my head to my toes, and I start to feel slightly better. I screw the lid back on, and stuff it in my pocket the best I can. It bulges, and is really uncomfortable, but at least I still have both my hands free if I need them. I head across the mountain. Since the initial shock has worn off, I realize that I don't want to spend another minute in the spot where Holden died. Once I'm far enough away, I find a small cave that will work for cover for the night. I crawl inside and curl up into a ball. As soon as my legs touch my chest, the tears come again. And I let them come. I let them all out, and when they're all out, and I'm just curled up hiccupping, I wipe my eyes and sit up. _No more crying now. Now you have to be ready to take on anything. There's no more Holden to look after you. You have to look after yourself._

The anthem sounds, and I uncurl and crawl to the mouth of the cave. The Capitol seal floats in the sky, soon to be replaced by Holden's face. I force myself not to start crying again. He fades, and I crawl back into the cave. I'd better get some sleep. Tomorrow's going to be a long day.

* * *

The next morning, I crawl out of the cave and set off across the mountain. If I weren't in the Games, I think I would really like it here. The mountain is big, with smaller peaks on it, as well as multiple paths, at multiple levels. It's the sort of place I've always imagined living. I wish it weren't the Games, so I could enjoy it more.

A second later, something cold pierces my back.

_**~Katriena's POV~**_

We've been hunting all night and my eyes feel like they'll shut at any second. The only good part is Taurus. Too bad he'll have to die. Aurora looks back to where Alexander, Taurus and I are walking. "Pick up the pace! Especially you fifteen!" Martin mutters something under his breath behind us. Probably something insulting towards Aurora. If he's not arguing with Aurora, he's arguing with Dana. The kid just doesn't seem to be able to stop. None of us know why he volunteered. He hasn't even tried to kill anyone yet. Alexander's lucky, he's killed two people. Though I think Six was more of an accident, since he looked pretty shocked after he killed her. Taurus has nicknamed him the "Child Killer" since both his kills were so young. One twelve, one thirteen. But aren't we all Child Killers? Everyone in this arena is a child, and we're going to kill them. Isn't that how it works?

Aurora leads us down the mountain to the path below, since the one we were on drops away suddenly, and no one wants to die from a broken neck. That would be embarrassing for any tribute, let alone a Career.

We walk along this path for a while in silence. Since Twelve's cannon yesterday, not much has happened. Aurora thinks they must have let the mutts out, since nothing has happened since we kill Six. She thinks we're being a major disappointment to the Capitol, since only seven tributes have died so far, and we're almost a week into the Games. There have been Games before where they were into the final eight at this point. Of course, that doesn't happen very often, but it has happened before.

A flash of movement in the corner of my eye catches my attention. A tribute is moving along the rock shaft below us. I reach behind me and pull out an arrow, loading my bow. I aim, and pull back.

"What are you doing?!" Taurus asks.

But it's too late. I let go. My arrow flies. The cannon sounds. I've made my first kill.

**So, in case that wasn't clear, Katriena killed Coral. She shot her with an arrow from higher up on the mountain. Sorry for yet another depressing chapter, and a kind of short one at that. Next chapter will be longer, and a bit more depressing. You're all going to hate me by the end of it, especially if you're on my forum. I'M SORRY!**


	16. Chapter 16

** So, here's a depressing chapter. Please don't kill me. *hides in bomb shelter* **

_**~Reilly's POV~**_

I wake up with my face pressed in the ground. My shoulder and side still sting from the mutt attack. _No change from yesterday then..._ Last night Coral's face appeared in the sky, and all I could think about was her in the pool of her district partner's blood, begging me to help her bring him back. I wish I could. I wish I could bring them all back. Maria, Holden, Zander, all of them. I wish they didn't have to die. And I wish I didn't have to live knowing that I would die soon as well.

After the mutt attack, I took off my second shirt and tore it in half. One half I wrapped around my shoulder, and the other half I wrapped around my torso, covering as much of the claw marks in my side as I could. I wish I had actual bandages, but at least I had something. I was pretty dizzy from blood loss, so I still spent a good portion of yesterday lying down. Around midday I started feeling better though, and I walked a little further into the woods, so my blood trail wouldn't give me away.

I rummage through my backpack, looking for the bottle of pills I got at the Cornucopia. I'm not sure what exactly they do, but they haven't killed me yet, and since they're pills, they must do something good. I've been feeling a little bit better since I took them as well, so maybe they do something with the blood, or infections. Something like that.

I finally find the bottle, and I take two of the pills. They aren't disgusting, but they're pills. They're just dry and nasty. It's even worse since I don't have a water bottle, so I can't wash them down with anything. I _can_ get rid of the aftertaste though. I stick the bottle back in my pack, and rummage through it a bit more until I find the beef strips. I chew one of them, trying to think of what I'll spend my day doing. I'm running out of the beef strips. Guess I'll spend my day hunting.

I grab my spear, the end still jagged and broken. I considered putting some of my torn shirt over the end, but I decided that my wounds needed the makeshift bandages more, and jagged end could be used as a second weapon if I ever need to fight anything again. Besides my spear, I also have the blowgun and darts, which would probably work on tributes, as well as smaller animals like birds and rabbits. I doubt it would be able to take down a mutt though. I keep telling myself that that's why I didn't try to use it on the mutts that killed Holden, but in reality, I know that that wasn't it. I know what my thoughts were as I listened to him die. _One less tribute to worry about._

And he was a strong one too. I think he had tried fighting them, but I'm not sure. I definitely heard a few shrieks of pain from the mutts, so maybe he had a sword or something. But in the end, there were too many of them. And I'll never forgive myself for not trying to save him.

I set off through the woods, fiddling with the pouch of darts on my belt. Before long, I spot a small rabbit hopping through the bushes. _That should feed me for at least one meal._

I set the spear down on the ground gently. It's too big for a small animal like this rabbit. I pull the blowgun off my shoulder, simultaneously opening the pouch and pulling out a dart. I load the gun and take aim. A couple of seconds later, the rabbit goes limp. I grin and run over to it. My feet make more noise than I would like, but I'm so happy that I don't care. I've managed to hunt something!

* * *

I finish cooking the rabbit, and put out the fire. I don't want the Careers to find me. The rabbit's nice and juicy, probably the best food I've had in about a week. I mentally count up the days in my head. A week. It's been a week that I've been in this arena. A week since the start of the Games. A week since Maria was killed. The guilt that I feel about her death still hasn't gone away. She sacrificed herself for me. And I'm only going to die anyways. She at least had a bit of a chance. She's smart and she's a fighter. _Was. _She _was_ smart, and she _was_ a fighter. She isn't anymore. She isn't anything anymore.

I spit out my mouthful of rabbit. It tastes dry now, no longer warm and delicious. I wrap up what I haven't eaten yet, and stick it in my backpack. Might as well have it later if I'm not going to have it now.

The birds chirp as I walk through the forest, making it sound like the day's perfect, and nothing's wrong. But I can't shake the feeling of impending doom that's in my stomach. And it all just intensifies by a million when I hear the snap of a branch under someone's boot.

I turn around. The Careers.

The girl from One smirks at her district partner. "Aw, Taurus, why'd you do that? It's more fun when they're not looking."

The girl from Two scowls at both of them. "He's mine, remember?"

The girl from One laughs and gestures at me. "He's all yours Dana. We won't interfere."

Dana smirks and walks over to me. "Hey Seven, remember me?"

I try to be brave. Ash is watching this at home, and he would expect me to be brave. Like Maria and Zander were. "Yeah, you hate me because of an accident."

Dana reaches up over her shoulder and pulls an axe out of the dual holder on her back, leaving the second one in there. "Oh, I don't think it was an accident. No more than this is an accident."

She swings her axe, and I feel a stabbing, blinding pain at my elbow. I scream with pain, regretting it instantly as she smirks. _What did she do? _I look down. _Oh God... _Lying on the ground at my feet, is the bloody bottom half of my arm. She chopped off my arm. Elbow down, she chopped off my arm. I feel a wave of vomit rushing up from my stomach, and am barely able to keep it down. Instead, I grab the spear from my chopped off hand and swing it, using my left hand, causing it to miss its target of Dana's neck, and instead, the jagged end of the shaft slices her cheek open. She puts her hand to her cheek, pulls it back, and stares at the blood on her fingers. Her face changes from shocked to furious in seconds. "You little shit!" She swings her axe again, but this time I'm ready for it. I duck, the blade whizzing over my head. But I'm wobbly from the blood gushing out of what's left of my arm, and I fall backwards. Dana sits on my stomach.

"You're dead Seven," she growls. "I hope you know that." She unzips her jacket and pulls a knife out of the inside, which she shoves into my arm that's still full, pinning me to the ground. I can't punch her now, and she's too heavy for me to throw her off. I'm trapped. I'll just have to put up with whatever she does, and try not to cry out.

She fiddles with her axe. "I like axes better than knives. They make deeper cuts."

As if to prove her point, she slice down my arm. I grit my teeth. It hurts, but if I make a noise, it'll give her satisfaction. Which is the one thing I will refuse to give her. She can kill me, but I will not make a noise. As much as possible, I will not cry out.

She must have noticed that I gritted my teeth though, because she fakes confusion. "What Seven? Did you not feel that? Maybe I should try again." She presses the axe to my forehead and slowly cuts her way across. I close my eyes, trying to block out the pain. She laughs. "Oh, that's better! I'm getting a reaction now!" She places the axe beside my ear and whispers, "It's no fun if there's no reaction" before slices down.

I gasp with pain, and grab a handful of grass with my hand to keep myself from screaming. She just cut off my ear. First my arm, now my ear! "You bitch," I manage to gasp out.

She mock gasps. "That's not very acceptable language for a twelve year old!" A pause. "Open your eyes."

I ignore her. It's my own form of rebellion. When faced with death, I will not obey my killer. And I know I'm dying. I doubt I'll live for more than another two minutes. I can feel blood gushing out the bottom of my arm and the side of my head, as well as the slower, but still fast, bleeding of the cuts on my arm and forehead.

Dana places the axe at the top of my right leg. "Open your eyes, or I chop it off."

I don't open my eyes. I don't care anymore. It will speed up my death, and help me escape from this unbearable pain. A second later, there's blinding, white hot pain in my hip, and blood starts gushing out from there as well. I can't hold back the cry of pain that escapes from my lips, and by accident, my eyes fly open as I cry out. Dana notices. "Brilliant," she says, and the axe comes swinging towards my face. A second later, I'm half blind. My eye. She chopped out my eye.

The pain's blinding now, and I gasp for air, lying in a pool of blood. Dana's soaked in it, and looks more than satisfied. "I guess I'll be nice and end your suffering. It's interesting, isn't it? A Seven killed by an axe."

And a moment later, that axe is buried in my chest.

_**~Olivia's POV~**_

The sudden boom of the cannon makes me jump and drop my water bottle into the river, where it gets swept away by the current. "Great," I say sarcastically, "that's exactly what I wanted to have happen today."

I climb out of the river and run along the bank, chasing after my lost water bottle. I eventually find it lodged between two rocks, one of which I scramble across to get it back. Of course, I fall into the river reaching down to grab it. This day is not going well.

I spend probably about half an hour sitting on the river bank, relaxing in the sun, my jacket spread out beside me, trying to get dried off. I lie back. It's days like this where I can almost forget that I'm in the arena, and I can just pretend that I'm back home in Nine. I can almost hear Dad calling me to come back inside to look after Kyle for a little bit while he goes to the store to get some more food. Or maybe he's asking me to take Kyle to the square so that he can open the bakery and people won't be distracted by the twelve year old girl running around with a baby strapped to her back.

I open my eyes. I'm not in Nine. I'll never see Dad again. I'll never get to watch Kyle grow up. I'll never get to work in the bakery again, or help Dad make bread. I'll never get to run through the grain fields with my friends again. I'm going to die. I'm going to go home in a wooden box. I'll see Mom again. The idea of dying scares me, but the thought of seeing Mom again makes it a little bit less scary.

I pick up my water bottle and dump the purification tablets in it. I can't give up yet. I might already know that I'm not going home, but I still have to at least try.

I head back towards the small camp that I've set up. It's not much, just a small cave that I keep my backpack in, with a wire trap set up nearby so that any tributes that come close to me get trapped and I have time to run away. I get back to the cave close to midday. There's some rustling coming from the forest nearby, but I don't pay any attention to it. It's probably an animal. If it's a tribute, then my trap will get them.

I rummage through my pack, searching for the food I got at the Cornucopia. It's almost all gone, but there should still be at least a little bit left. _Tap, tap, tap. _The sound of something tapping against wood makes me look up. A woodpecker? I've never seen one before. _Tap, tap, tap. _It's coming from behind me. I turn around. The Careers are standing there, the girl from One tapping one of her knives against a tree. _Tap, tap, tap. _Her ankle looks a bit bloody. I wonder what happened.

She glances at the other Careers. "It looks like we've found our culprit." She looks back at me. "Nice trap you set up there Nine. Too bad it didn't stop us."

Oh. That's why. She must have gotten trapped and had the other Careers get her down.

She raises the knife. "Don't worry, this won't hurt a bit. Oh wait," she smirks. "it will."

My head feels like it's on fire, and then everything goes black.


	17. Chapter 17

***pokes head out of bomb shelter* I'M SORRY! And after the past few chapters' depressingness (is that even a word? Spell check doesn't think so) I decided to be nice and here's a non-death-with-a-side-of-fluff chapter! Enjoy! **

_**~Sima's POV~**_

I look up to the sky as the first few snowflakes fall. They're big and fluffy, like the ones that come at the beginning of a storm. I shiver and pull the hood of my jacket over my head. A storm in the arena is good news for no one, much less a tribute without any gloves or a hat. I'd better find some shelter if I stand any chance at surviving through the night.

I grab my pack and sleeping bag off the ground and throw them over my shoulder before setting off into the woods.

I've probably only been walking about a kilometer, and the snow's only up to about my ankles when I hear it. A very faint beeping. One that usually accompanies a parachute.

I look up to the sky, trying to hide my shock. Sure enough, a silver parachute is floating down towards me. I reach up to catch it before it hits the ground, my frozen fingers fumbling with the clasps holding it shut. Once I finally get it open, my face breaks into a grin. Sitting in the metal container is a pair of warm black gloves. I pull them on, letting the parachute and attached container fall to the ground. They start warming my hands up almost instantly, meaning that they're probably some special Capitol brand that Three and Eight worked together on. Something that we can wear that warms us up instantly. I wonder how the other tributes are doing, and if any of them are getting parachutes to help them as the storm sets in. There's only fourteen of us left. But six of the remaining fourteen are Careers.

_I still have a chance. _I repeat to myself. _I still have a chance._

And that chance seems to grow when I find a small cave that hasn't been touched by a mutt or a fellow tribute. I smile. _I'll make it through this storm. Maybe I can win this thing yet._

_**~Taurus' POV~**_

Aurora curls up in her sleeping bag. We set up a few tents inside of the Cornucopia as soon as it started to snow, knowing that the weather would only get worse, and it was better to be prepared early than to be scrambling to set up tents in knee deep snow. The fifteen year old and the Child Killer are in one of the other tents, while the psycho and the hot one are in the third. I didn't bother learning their names. Aurora knows them, and I just copy off her if I need to call them by their names.

Speaking of the beautiful redhead, Aurora lifts her head and watches me quietly for a minute before saying, "Who do you think this is for?"

I know what she's talking about instantly. We had to have been pleasing the Capitol, three deaths in a row, only a day separating one and the other two. Maybe it was because they were all twelve year olds, but my instincts say otherwise. "Probably one of the other tributes. Maybe one of them broke their leg or something and is taking too long to die."

Aurora sits up fully and grabs one of the extra blankets we have in the tent, wrapping it around her shoulders. "But why a snowstorm? Why not just mutts?"

I shrug. "Maybe they want us to show the sponsors what we're capable of. Or maybe they want to kill two geese with a rock."

Aurora smiles. "Kill two birds with one stone?"

I smile slightly, a smile only my district partner is able to get out of me in this arena, a smile I only fake to the hot one. "That's the saying."

Aurora laughs lightly and lies back down again. "Oh Taurus, what will I do without you?"

I smirk, the smile going prideful. "You won't have to. I'm the one who's going to have to do without you."

Aurora laughs again and rolls over to go to sleep. "You keep telling yourself that, Taur! Just keep telling yourself that!"

I reach over and ruffle her hair. "Says you!"

She squeaks indignantly and sits up again. "Taurus!"

I laugh. "What did I do?"

Aurora tugs at her curls, trying to get them back in place. "You messed up my hair!"

"You can send a knife into a twelve year old's head, but if I mess up your hair, it's the worst thing ever?"

"Yes!" She glares at me, but there's a spark in her blue eyes that seems so familiar. I duck just in time to miss the pillow.

"You have to move faster than that to hit Taurus Cawl, doll!"

Aurora laughs, her head tilting back as she leans backwards. "Did you just call me 'doll?'"

"Well, I don't know. Why don't you tell me?"

She gives me a playful shove. "Shut up!"

I laugh and ruffle her hair again. "Make me, Rora!"

"You _know _I hate that nickname!" She says, swinging her pillow again.

I laugh and block it with my own. "And you _know _I don't care!"

She drops her pillow and punches me lightly in the stomach. "Be glad I don't want to kill you! Yet!"

I laugh and scoop her up bridal-style, but stay kneeling on the ground. "Be glad that _I _don't want to kill you!"

She pokes my nose, something she knows annoys me. "Yes, because I'm _terrified _of your maces!"

I decide to ignore the nose poking. "And I'm _terrified _of you knives!"

Aurora laughs and rolls out of my arms. "God, I love you!"

I poke her stomach. "_Gosh._"

She giggles. "Right. _Gosh, _I love you!"

I smile. "Gosh, I love you, too."

The only difference between us is sometimes I think that I might actually mean it.

_**~Anna's POV~**_

I've been in this cave for the past couple of days. Ever since the temperatures started dropping. It was a sure sign that there was a storm coming, and now, watching the first snowflakes fall, I've been proven right.

I pull the blanket tighter around my shoulders and close my eyes. If I concentrate really hard, I can almost imagine I'm back home with Mom and Abbi. Mom's making us supper, tomato soup, the only soup we can easily make lots of, while Abbi and I sit in front of the fire, blankets wrapped around our shoulders, cups of tea in our hands. In a few minutes, Mom will come over with a tray holding three bowls of hot soup, and we'll eat our supper in front of the fire.

I open my eyes. I'm not at home. I may never go home. I might die in this arena, and my ghost will be left wandering it forever. The thought scares me so much, and makes my chest clench in fear and sadness. I have to force myself not to cry. I have to stay strong. To win sponsors, and to make sure that if I die, Abbi will remember me with honor. But also, to keep myself from losing my mind.

I hear a small thump come from outside the cave, and I slowly crawl to the entrance of the cave and peer out, searching for the tribute that I'm sure is there. But there isn't a tribute. Instead, there's just a silver parachute.

I pull it inside and undo the clasp. Inside is a smaller silver container, with a screw-on lid that I unscrew and the most amazing smell fills the cave. It's the smell of joy, and love, and cold days. The container's filled with warm tomato soup. I close my eyes and breathe in the smell, silently thanking Yogurt for the gift. Then I grab the spoon and dig in, enjoying the sensation of the warmth that's filling me, replacing the cold.

When I'm about halfway done the soup, I screw the lid back on and stick the container in my backpack, saving the rest for later. Who knows how long this storm will last before I can go out and gather some more food?

_**~Lorter's POV~**_

When I see the first few flakes of snow fall, I feel a wave of dread crash over and drown me. _It's meant for me. _I'm not doing anything except for lie here, starving to death with an infected leg. I'm taking too long to die, and the Gamemakers want me gone. And if they can take out a few more tributes while they're at it, that's great too. But it's mainly for me. And I doubt I have any sponsors in the Capitol. There's no way I'm living through this storm.

I curl up, trying not to rub my injured leg in the dirt too much. It stings, and I stop, reaching into my jacket pocket for my token. It's a carved spiral, made out of wood that's been finely sanded. It's a bit more of a District Seven token than a District Eleven token, but I've always loved it. Aunt Sadie said it was Dad's. He learned how to carve from his father, and it was one of the first things he managed to carve that actually looked good. I've kept it on me ever since he died from pneumonia. I was nine when that happened. Now, five years later, I'm in the Hunger Games and am about to go and join him.

I just hope he's proud of me.

I hope he realises that I tried my best, even after I got injured. I tried to heal myself, but none of the plants around here really worked.

My stomach growls and my leg stings. I close my eyes and wait for the sensations to all be over.

_**~Theo's POV~**_

We both look up as the first few snowflakes fall. Matt frowns. "That's not good. We'd better get to shelter, and fast."

We pack up camp and throw our bags over our shoulders, but just as we start walking away, a beeping noise catches our attention. At first, we glance around the forest, thinking that it's a mutt of some sort. But then we realise that it's coming from above us, and look up. A silver parachute is floating down towards us, beeping. We glance at each other and grin. Whatever it is, it's bound to help us during the storm, even if it's only some matches. But just as our luck is beginning to look up, a gust of wind pushes the parachute through the air and it lands in a nearby tree.

Matt swears softly. "Think we'll be able to get it down?"

I walk around the tree, examining the placement of the branches before smiling. "Yeah, I think so."

I reach up to grab the first branch, but Matt grabs my wrist. "You aren't thinking about climbing that, are you?"

I lower my arm, but he doesn't let go of my wrist. "Yeah, why?"

Oh, now he lets go. He pulls the knife out of his belt and stabs the tree. Cracks appear in it, and I realise the cracks aren't appearing in the _tree_, they're appearing in the ice covering the tree. The entire tree's covered in a thin layer of ice. "That's why."

I pause for a moment. On one hand, I could risk breaking my neck. On the other hand, we need those supplies. I can feel Matt's eyes on me, waiting for me to make my decision. Knowing he's watching me is all the push I need. I grin at him. "It'll be easy."

And with that, I reach up and swing myself into the tree.

Almost immediately, I realise that it won't be easy. As soon as I pull myself into a crouch to climb up to the next branch, my feet slide backwards, and I'm only just able to grab hold of the branch again. Down on the ground, Matt winces and calls up "Be _careful!_"

I pull myself back up onto the branch. "Wow, great advice there!" I say sarcastically. "Aren't you supposed to be a genius?"

I can hear the grin in his voice. "Yeah, but I tend not to associate with helping lunatics or idiots. And if they're both? Well, then I _really_ don't get involved!"

I glare down at him. "Laugh while you can. As soon as I'm out of here, you're getting snow down your back."

He laughs, the sound seeming too happy for such a gloomy place. One thing I've learned over the past week or so, is that he doesn't laugh much, unless you make him really happy, or he thinks you're funny. I seem to be both. "I'm absolutely terrified of a little snow!" His eyes dance with amusement. "Come on, Williams, I know you have more in you than that!"

I grin, my annoyance gone. I can't stay angry with him for long. "Yeah, but I don't want to kill you just yet!" And with that, I start climbing the tree.

It's slow work, but eventually I reach the parachute. I wrap my legs tightly around the branch I'm on, and untangle it, letting it drop down into Matt's hands below. Once he's caught it, I drop lightly out of the tree.

I brush the snow off me. "What is it?"

He hands me the note with a smile. "They're banding together."

I take the note, frowning. _What does he mean by that?_

The note reads:

_Good work so far. Stick together and stay alive. -C&H_

_C _stands for Carissa, my mentor. But who's _H_? I guess he would be Matt's mentor, but who's that? I decide to ask him.

"Howard Jeff. One of the most... argumentative, let's say, mentors."

I try to picture him mentoring Matt, and all that comes to mind is a lot of arguments. He'd never admit it, but Matt's pretty stubborn. An argumentative mentor for him would never end well. "What'd he do?"

"Mostly? He just told me I'd die in the bloodbath." He gives me his usual quick grin. "Looks like he was wrong, eh?"

His grin's contagious, and I smile. "Yeah, looks like it." I glance back down at the note. "Looks like our mentors really are working together."

"Yeah. And forgive me if I'm wrong, but isn't Brook your mentor?"

I shake my head. "No, she was Sam's." I feel the usual pain remembering that Sam's dead. We weren't close, and we didn't know each other before the Games, but she was a sweet kid, and she was only twelve. She was only twelve, and now she's dead.

Matt must realise I'm upset, since he quickly changes the subject. "We got some pretty good warm clothing. Guess we're getting lots of sponsors." He tosses me a hat and a pair of warm gloves. I had seen clothes like this at the Cornucopia, so no doubt the Careers are as well prepared. Now we're even with them. Again.

We set off across the snow, which is starting to pile up faster now. Our breath's coming in puffs of white air. I can barely see Matt through the snow, the flakes of white turning his hair more white-blonde than it usually is. The snow's halfway to our knees, and we can barely walk through it. I step down, and my leg twists, sending a sharp jolt of pain to my knee and causing me to start to fall over. A strong pair of arms catches me before I hit the ground. "Careful, little buddy." Matt's voice says in my ear.

I try to walk on my own, but my knee stings. "We can probably fix it up once we find shelter. I think it just needs to rest or something. It doesn't feel broken."

He nods. "Just lean on me in the meantime. It shouldn't be too far. I think I saw a cave around here earlier."

With me leaning on him, we make slow but steady progress through the snow to a cave. Once we're there, Matt helps me get inside before sliding in after me. "Get some sleep," he says. "I'll take first watch."

As soon as he finishes talking, a gust of wind blows into the cave, making us both shiver. I decide to bargain with him. "Okay, but it's freezing. I'll let you take first watch, but you have to stay in the sleeping bag with me."

He looks pretty hesitant, so I explain my idea a bit more. "It's freezing, so we might as well both be somewhere warm and share our body heat, right?"

He sighs, giving in. "Alright, move over."

I laugh and slide over in the sleeping bag, making room for him to slide in beside me. He drapes the blanket over me. "There, happy?"

I close my eyes, breathing in his scent of machine oil, woods, and something distinctly Matt. "Yeah, I think so..."


	18. Chapter 18

**And after last chapter's happiness, we're back into the sadness. And I'm sorry, but it's sad from here on in. Only eight chapters left to write after this one though!**

_**~William's POV~**_

The cannon sounds around noon, and almost instantly the snow stops falling and what was already on the ground starts melting. Whoever the storm was meant for is dead. There's only thirteen of us left.

I stretch out so I'm lying stretched out on my back. The cool wind that's blowing through the trees is somehow comforting, and I'm happy to just lie there, running through the remaining tributes in my mind.

All six Careers. They're bound to still be in an alliance if they're all still alive. Probably hunting down the rest of us.

Both from Three. Whether they're in an alliance with each other, or on their own, they're strong competitors either way.

The girl from Five. The volunteer. She's still alive, so whatever knowledge she had that made her think she could win is serving her well.

The boy from Eight. He won't be alive for very much longer. The boy from One's after him for sure, due to whatever he did that first day in training.

Both from Ten. The girl's to be expected, what with her seven and all, but the boy's a surprise. At thirteen, he's the youngest contender left in the Games.

The boy from Eleven. He's also a bit of a surprise, at fourteen, but he's more expected then the boy from Ten.

And now one of them's dead. I doze off, wondering which one.

* * *

The tune of the anthem wakes me up. The boy from Eleven's face shines in the sky before fading away with the anthem's notes. Guess that tells me who died. I fall asleep trying to plan out what I'm going to do next.

_**~Anna's POV~**_

I rummage around in my pack, hoping that there's still some food left. It's been two days since the boy from Eleven died, and eleven days since the Games began. I push my bangs back out of my face, noticing, out of the corner of my eye, some form of movement in the woods.

I look up towards there. A twig snaps behind me. I spin around. And around again. _Oh no... They have me surrounded. _

The Careers.

I react almost instantly, my hand flying to my belt for the knife I got from my pack. I fumble with the clasp slightly, before pulling it loose and throwing it at the closest Career. It buries itself in the boy from Four's chest, and his cannon sounds almost immediately.

I stand there frozen, my arm still raised. I did it. I just killed someone. I JUST KILLED SOMEONE! I JUST FREAKING KILLED SOMEONE!

My breath comes faster and faster. The Careers are staring at me, looking shocked that someone dared to fight back and that they just lost one of their pack.

But then one of them reacts. There's a yell of fury from behind me, and a second or two later, something sharp and cold pierces my neck. I crumple to the ground and only have a few seconds to think _I'm sorry Mom. And I'm so, so, sorry Abbi. _And then everything goes black and cold.

_**~Katriena's POV~**_

The girl's cannon sounds, and I slowly lower my bow. The others seem to be getting over their shock, and move forwards to check her and her pack for supplies that might be of use to us. But I stay frozen where I stand, staring just beyond the girl, where Alexander lies, knife still buried in his chest. He was the first of us to die, so maybe that's why death is suddenly affecting me so much. He's the first person I've lost to the Hunger Games. Or to anything really.

I've come close before. But I've never actually lost them. And now, seeing Alexander just _lie _there, when he should be walking over to me, congratulating me for another kill, with just enough sarcasm in his voice that I get it, but no one else does. Neither of us were crazy about the Games, but I needed to bring my family back to honor, and Alexander's father told him that he had to do it. And now Alexander's dead.

It takes all of my effort not to turn to the cameras and start screaming at him. I know he'll be mourning him just as much as me- Alexander was his son, after all. But he told him to do this. He told him to volunteer, and now he's dead because of it.

I turn away from the rest of the Careers, blinking back my tears. I know that they'll be watching their district partner die soon as well, but for now I'm the only one who has experienced this, and they won't understand why I feel like crying. They saw Alexander as a fierce Career. The Child Killer. The one who was a little dense. They didn't see him like I saw him.

I saw him as my friend. The boy who saved Jonathon's life, even though he didn't know him. The boy who could go from teasing to protective in the space of a second. The boy who could make a joke out of almost anything. The boy who was a lot smarter than everyone thought he was.

But now that boy is gone. And all that's left of him is his body, a hollow shell of what he used to be.


	19. Chapter 19

** Another depressing chapter. What's new? :( But two chapters in one night! That's pretty good!**

_**~Otto's POV~**_

I sit down on the rock beside the stream and slide my feet into it. The rushing water around them is nice and calming, and I find myself starting to smile. One of the tiny fish that live in the water swims over and bumps itself into my foot, tickling it, and making me laugh quietly. I've been really careful about how much noise I make. I never know where exactly the Careers are, and I don't want to take my chances. There's only eleven of us left in the arena, and I'm the youngest, giving me an immediate target on my back. I can almost feel it painted between my shoulder blades.

I glance over to my right, where my whip lies coiled up. It's silver blades are still shining and unmarked. I wonder how much longer that's going to last, before I'm forced to use it on someone. I hope it's not for a while. It's not that I don't want to go home. I do. I want to see my brothers again. I want to be able to sit on the fence at one of the ranches and watch them herd the cattle. But I don't want to kill.

It must sound funny. Someone from District Ten saying that they don't want to kill. But there's a difference between killing an animal and killing a human being. A big one. One that you can't just easily overlook and say "Well, it's killing either way!" I don't know why there's a difference, there just is. It's just something that you feel, every year when you watch the Hunger Games, and even more when you're in them.

When you're in them. I've been in this arena for twelve days now. Each one feels like an eternity. Twelve eternities is definitely a long time. Not much has come my way though. I haven't been attacked by mutts, and I haven't had to hide from the Careers. I can be thankful for that much at least. But the Games are starting to speed up and slow down. People have been dropping one after each other more than they were at the beginning, but there's only eleven tributes left. The Games are winding down into the final competitors. Which means the deaths are only going to get more gruesome. I can feel my already pale skin pale at that thought. The only thing I can wish for is that my death won't be that bad.

Of course, I shouldn't just roll over and give up, but it's not exactly like I stand a huge chance. It's me, a scrawny thirteen year old, against five eighteen year olds, two sixteen year olds, and three fifteen year olds. The odds are exactly in my favour anymore.

I push those thoughts from my mind though, and pull my feet out of the water and back into my socks and boots. The stream's too out in the open for me to comfortably stay beside it for very long. I prefer to be near it, but in the forest, where the bushes and trees can cover me. I head into the woods now, sleeping bag slung over my shoulder and whip in my hand. For a little while I let myself believe that it's all going well.

That is, until I hear a noise behind me.

_**~Martin's POV~**_

Aurora gestures for us to spread out and surround him, just like we did with Anna, making it harder for him to try and get away. It's harder to do with five people instead of six though, but somehow we make it work.

The boy looks up, and we step out of the shadows. His brown eyes widen, and for a second I'm reminded of myself when I was thirteen. Red hair sticking up everywhere, brown eyes wide and curious. Curious, not afraid. He shouldn't be afraid right now. He shouldn't be here right now. He should be back in District Ten, where he belongs, and he should be trying to learn and find out as much as he can about the world. He won't be getting that chance now though. He only has about another ten minutes to live.

Aurora looks over at Taurus. "It's a Ten. You want it?"

He circles the boy, scanning him quietly for a minute, before finally saying, "No, it's not the girl. I only want the girl, not the boy."

"Whatever you say," she says, shrugging, before turning to me. "You're up."

I try not to look too hesitant. "Why me?"

"Simple. You haven't had the fun yet."

Dana scowls at me. "You're not _scared,_ are you?"

I force myself to keep my face impassive. "No, of course not."

"Well then, go ahead!"

I approach the boy slowly, raising my spear as I go. I'm just pulling my arm back to thrust it into his chest, when there's a flash of silver in the air, and a burning sensation in my chest. I stumble back a bit, and reach up towards my chest. When I pull my hand back, it's sticky with red blood.

I look back at the boy from Ten. He looks as startled as I do, the whip that's in his hand stained with my blood. Luckily, the whips designed only to cause pain, and not to kill with only one lash. Otherwise I would be dead right now.

I move towards him again, and he lashes out with the whip, this time curling it around my ankle and tugging, effectively yanking my feet out from under me. As I scramble back to my feet, I hear Dana's annoyed voice from behind me. "Martin! Stop fooling around and just finish him already!"

I clench my teeth and move forwards again, bracing myself for the sting of the tiny blades. But the boy hesitates, glancing around at the rest of the Careers. And I can see in his eyes that he gets it. He's not going to live if he just beats me. He's going to have to beat the rest of them as well. And a fifteen year old is one thing, but a sixteen or eighteen year old is different. It'll just wear him down. And who's to say that they won't start attacking all together?

He meets my eyes, and I read the message that he's silently sending me. _Make it fast. _So I do. Instead of stabbing him in the stomach or neck, or even just slightly to the side of his heart, I stab him right through the heart, making it quick and almost painless.

_**~Sima's POV~**_

Two. I run the number through my mind as many times as it will let me. If I'm right, which I may or may not be- dyscalculia has its moments- it's been two days since Otto was killed, and two weeks since the initial bloodbath. Right now I'm crouched in the bushes at the edge of the woods, staring out across the open field where the Games began. The Cornucopia where the Careers have been camping out is filled with supplies, but empty of Careers. They went off hunting earlier today most likely. I've been watching it for the past little while to make sure that they really are gone, and not just hidden out of sight in the horn.

Confident that they aren't around, I run out of my hiding spot towards the supplies, scanning them for some knives. I don't spot any in the open, but once I get there and start looking through the supplies, I find a handful at the bottom of a crate. I scoop them up and run out again, to the sound of distant laughter.

I look over towards the forest. They're back, and it's too late for me to run. They've spotted me. I grip the knives tightly in my hand, pulling one out with the other hand and raising it. I managed to score a seven with knives in training, and with a little luck, I should be able to injure them enough that they won't chase after me.

I throw the first knife at Katriena. She isn't expecting it to come so close, and dodges enough so it misses her chest, burying itself instead in her shoulder. The second knife I throw at Taurus, who's expecting it and manages to dodge it completely, slamming into me and knocking me to the ground.

"Oh, you think you're a clever one, don't you Ten?" He snarls, pulling the knives from my grasp. "You're really not though."

Aurora gestures the rest of the Careers into the Cornucopia, saying "She's all yours." before following them.

Taurus spins a knife between his fingers. "You use knives, yeah?"

I nod nervously, wondering silently why he was asking this.

"Well I like to use maces," he stands up, letting go of me. "Stand up."

I stand up, my legs trembling harder than they had ever trembled before. Taurus drops the knives, instead reaching for his mace. He spins it between his fingers before gripping it tightly. "Sweet dreams."

He pulls it back, before swinging it forward and cracking it into the side of my head.


	20. Chapter 20

** Here's another depressing chapter. Wow, how many times have I said that? And guys, I'm serious, if you're reading this, please review. It makes me really happy. Especially if I don't know you. **

**_~Dana's POV~_**

I sit down on the log at the edge of the forest, the shadows hiding me from Martin's sight. The fifteen year old idiot's on watch while the rest of us sleep. He thinks I've just slipped off to "relieve myself"- as Aurora has started referring to it- during Katriena's watch. That's what he assumes at least. He doesn't know what I'm planning.

I stare up at the sky, wishing that more faces would appear in it. We didn't get a kill all day, and it's driving me nuts. Some Games are over by this point, and we're not even into the final eight. I've decided that it's up to me to bring us there.

Sliding off my log, I head deeper into the woods to where I've piled up a ton of pebbles. If I stumble around on them, they should make enough noise to draw Martin into the woods. And with my mimicking skills, I should be able to fake the bitch from Five's voice enough that he won't be able to resist coming out.

I reach the pebbles and shuffle my feet on them, making a clattering noise. Martin stands up, peering into the forest. "Anyone there? Dana?"

_He thinks it's me coming back, _I remind myself. _He doesn't know that it's really me. _I bend over and quietly fake the girl's voice. "P-please don't hurt me..."

Martin frowns and heads towards me. "Okay... Banner, right?"

I smirk to myself, stumbling backwards so my face is always in shadows and far enough away that he can't see it. "Y-yeah..."

"Alright, I'm not going to hurt you. I'm letting the others do most of the killing. Can you come towards me?"

That should be far enough away. I put my regular voice back on. "Whatever you say, brat."

Martin's eyes widen slightly in realization, but he doesn't have time to move before I tackle him to the ground.

**_~Martin's POV~_**

I don't know how long I've been lying here for, Dana on top of me, torturing me with her axe. She's using a different method than she did with Seven. Instead of chopping off my limbs, she's cutting deep into my arms, legs and torso, obviously trying to make me bleed to death while in immense pain. It's working. I don't think there's a single part of my body left that she hasn't cut at, and the pain is unbearable. I find myself wishing for death, just so that I can get out of this pain.

Dana shifts slightly on top of me, unknowingly freeing my hand. It's numb, but I can feel it enough to reach for my waist, where I have a knife shoved through my belt. I grab the handle and pull it out. Dana barely has time to notice that I have a knife in my hand before I stab her in the chest. Her eyes widen slightly, and then she collapses onto me, her cannon echoing through the woods.

I lie there for a minute with my eyes closed, trying to catch my breath. Dana's hair tickles my face, and I reach up to push it back, before shoving her off me. She lands on her back, and her lifeless green eyes stare up at the sky. I feel guilty that I killed her, but at the same time... She was trying to kill me. It was self defense.

I push myself to my feet and immediately lurch forwards, grabbing hold of a tree to keep myself steady. I close my eyes, focusing on keeping the vomit down and trying to figure out what to do. I can't go back to the Careers, that much is clear. With only eight tributes left, they'll be splitting up soon for sure, and with the state I'm in, I'll probably cause the split, and I definitely won't survive it. I guess the only thing left to do is wander the arena on my own.

I set off through the woods again, using the trees to keep me upright. But it isn't long before I lurch forwards and the world fades away to black.

* * *

When I wake up, it's around noon. Judging by how my arms and legs are stiff but not aching, I'd say it's the same day that I killed Dana.

I stay lying down for a few minutes, trying to gather enough strength to stand up. As I lie there, a beeping sound comes from the sky, and a silver parachute falls down and lands in front of me. I reach out and pull it close to me, undoing the clasps and rummaging around inside for my sponsor gift. I pull out a roll of bandages and smile. It's not much, and it definitely won't cover all of my cuts, but it'll cover the major ones, and help me heal enough that I still have a chance. I could still win this. I'm still in the running.

**_~Matt's POV~_**

The girl from Two's- Dana Kild's- face shines in the sky for a few moments before disappearing. "We're into the final eight."

Theo nods. "Half of them are Careers."

An idea pops into my mind. "We're just going to have to do something about that, aren't we?"

"You have a plan?"

"The start of one, I think. Get some sleep first. I'm going to need to think about this some more."


	21. Chapter 21

** Short chapter, and last reasonably happy one. *dives into bomb shelter and locks door* I'm not coming out until the story's done! It's not going to be safe!**

_**~Theo's POV~**_

"So what's your great plan?" I ask. I've been asking for most of the day, but he's just waved at me to be quiet, frowning thoughtfully, as if there was still something missing.

Matt grins sheepishly at me. "It's actually pretty simple."

"Something simple coming from a genius? I'm disappointed in you."

"Like you could do much better," he responds, before pulling the blowgun off my shoulder. "This is the key."

I raise my eyebrows at him. "What do you mean?"

"You're good at climbing trees, yeah?"

"You saw me climb a tree covered in ice. You know I'm good."

His grin widens slightly. "Don't go getting a big head or anything though." He knocks on the trunk of a nearby tree. "You'll be up here with the blowgun. I'll go to the Careers' camp, get their attention, and they'll chase me back here, where you'll kill them with the darts."

"Are you insane?!"

He holds his finger and thumb an inch apart. "Only a little bit."

"Do you have a death wish or something?! You're going to get yourself killed!"

"Maybe I won't. I'm fast. I can fight."

I'm still not convinced though, and my face must reflect that, because he says "Relax. It'll go alright. Get some sleep. Tomorrow's going to be a long day."

* * *

Matt shakes me awake around dawn. "Time to get ready."

We clean up any trace of ourselves from the area, packing it all up into my backpack. Matt hides his pack under a bush, before pulling off his jacket and handing it to me. "Just in case."

I stick his jacket in my pack and hand him my mace. "Just in case. They might catch up with you."

He nods before pulling the knife from his belt and handing it to me. "Injure me."

I'm _really_ doubting his sanity now. "What?! No!"

"Please?" His eyes are pleading. "They might have trouble believing that a perfectly healthy tribute just wandered into their camp. But one that's injured might be believable."

I hesitantly take the knife from him. "Alright..."

I place the tip of the knife against his temple and slowly cut down the side of his face. Matt closes his eyes, wincing only slightly. When I'm done, he opens them again. "Thanks."

I nod. "Just be careful."

He grips my shoulders tightly. "Try not to worry, okay?" He smiles slightly. "Four more tributes will be dead by the end of the day, I promise."

_I know, _I think as he walks away. _I'm just worried that one of them's going to be you._


	22. Chapter 22

** *hammers planks of wood to bomb shelter door* Please don't kill me. **

_**~Matt's POV~**_

I'm almost at the clearing where the Games began and the Careers have made their camp. I'm not sure yet how I'm going to get their attention. Probably some form of a loud noise. I reach the edge of the forest and wipe some of the blood out of my eyes. Three of the four remaining Careers are sitting outside of the Cornucopia. Taurus is spinning his mace around, Aurora fiddling with a knife beside him. Katriena sits a short distance away from both of them, watching them warily. I don't blame her. At any given moment, they could turn around and kill her. I wonder why she hasn't left yet. But then Taurus turns around to say something, and her expression says it all. She cares about him. She wants to stay with him until the end, or as long as she can. The same reason that I haven't left Theo yet.

I push that thought out of my mind. I don't know what's going to happen next. Whether we decide to stick together or split up is completely up to him. I just hope it doesn't come down to the two of us, because neither of us would be walking out of here. He would want me to kill him, and I would refuse. There's no way I could kill him. I doubt I could even hurt him.

I force myself to stop thinking about that. I have to get through the task at hand first.

I grab a stick from the ground and spin it around in my hands, taking deep breaths. _Now or never. Now or never. _I swing it towards the nearest tree, breaking it in half, causing a snap that echoes throughout the forest.

The Careers look up almost instantly, staring at me like they can't believe their eyes. They probably can't. A perfectly healthy- except for a cut down the side of their face- tribute with only a mace, and no jacket, just the short sleeved shirt that all the tributes were giving at the beginning of the Games, just walked into their camp. I resist the urge to say "Come and get me," before spinning around and racing off into the woods, back in the direction of the tree that Theo's hiding in.

The Careers chase after me instantly, scrambling to their feet and yelling at each other to catch me. I pick up the pace a little, but not too much, knowing that I've got a long chase ahead of me.

And it's definitely a long one. I must have underestimated how long it would take, because I've been running for at least thirty minutes, and still haven't reached the berry stain I made on a tree, to let myself know that I was getting close. I can see the stream through the woods though, so I know I'm at least heading in the right direction. I look over my shoulder. The Careers seem to be getting a bit tired as well, but are starting to catch up to me. I speed up, despite the fact that my muscles really don't want to. I've never thought of myself as being slow or out of shape, but running through woodland for half an hour is hard on anyone.

Finally, after what feels like years, I spot the red stain on a tree, where I crushed and smeared a handful of berries. I'm almost there. It's almost over. My lungs are burning, and I can practically hear them screaming for air, but I speed up again, running towards the tree where I know Theo's hiding.

I stumble slightly as I get there, leaning against the trunk of a tree, trying to catch my breath. I look up to see Theo in the next tree, watching me for a signal. I nod slightly, and he fumbles at his belt for the pouch with the darts. A hand grabs my shoulder, flinging me backwards and to the ground before he can load the gun. Taurus stands over me and stares up into the tree, a grin spreading across his face. "We've got Eight too." He heads towards the tree. "He's mine."

No. Not while I'm still here. I grab the mace off the ground and scramble to my feet, gripping the mace tightly in my hands. A few steps forward, and I'm close enough to hit him. I swing the mace back, and then forwards, hitting Taurus in the back of the head with a loud crack. He falls forwards, the front of his head hitting the tree with a second crack that echoes through the forest, followed by the sound of his cannon. There's a moment of silence where none of us move, and I can feel the stares of the other two Careers on my back. I can feel their shock, that I just smashed their ally's head in. And then all hell breaks loose.

One of the girls cries out in anger, and I turn around to face them. At the same time, a dart whizzes past my head and buries itself in Aurora's forehead, a second cannon sounding. A second later, an arrow is stabbed into my chest.

It misses my heart. I can feel that. My feet stumble backwards, and I can feel myself falling to the ground. My breath's coming in short, quick gasps, and I can tell that I don't have much time left. Above me, I can see Katriena crumple to the ground, and can hear a faint cannon blast. The world starts blurring. I feel a rush of air past my ear, and Theo appears above me. I can faintly hear him yelling at me to breathe. I want to reassure him, tell him that it's all going to be okay, but I know it's not. I try to reach for his hand, but my muscles aren't responding. The world swirls, and Theo's voice starts to fade away.

The last thought in my mind is how remarkably similar to falling dying is.


	23. Chapter 23

** I'm really, really sorry, and I cried while writing this chapter. **

_**~Theo's POV~**_

I jump out of the tree and run over to Matt as quickly as possible, kneeling down beside him. "Breathe! Please, please breathe! Don't die, don't die, don't die!"

I can tell it's no use. His breathing's too shallow, and his eyes are starting to glaze over. But I keep yelling at him, as if he'll listen, as if he'll stay alive as long as I'm telling him to breath. I don't care how long it would be, I would do that for the rest of my life if it would keep him alive. "Breathe! Please! Keep breathing! You can't die! Not now! Breathe damn it! Breathe!"

His cannon sounds, and it echoes in my mind for much longer than it should. "No, no, no! You're not dead! Please! Breathe! _Please!_"

He doesn't move, and the rational part of my brain tells me _he's dead, I should leave him and move on. _But how could I leave him? How could I move on? "Don't be dead! Please, please, please, don't be dead! You have to be alive! You have to!"

I feel something wet on my cheek and reach up to touch it. Tears. I'm crying. When did that start? No. I'm not crying. If I'm crying that means he's dead. And he's not dead. He can't be dead. He can't...

I sit back, pressing my back against the tree and burying my face in my hands. "Damn you."

I stay there for a while, crying quietly. I know I have to move, let the Capitol collect the bodies, but I can't make myself. My body feels numb, like part of me died with him. I pull my hands away from my face and just sit there, staring at him. His eyes are still open, and I reach out and close them gently. Watching him now, I feel empty, emptier than I ever have before. It's not the first time I've lost someone, but it's the first time I've lost someone that I loved.

I close my eyes tightly, trying not to scream. _Not going to break down. Not now. Not now. _

I force myself to get to my feet, but my legs give out under me, and I collapse against the tree. I close my eyes again, and all I see is Matt leaning against the tree, nodding at me to signal that the Careers were following him and to load the gun.

_If I only I had been faster. Or if I had loaded the gun before they got here. Maybe I would have been able to save him. _

_Yeah? And then what? _The rational part of my brain argues back. _Two people can't win the Games. You know that. You would have had to kill each other._

_ But I would have died for him. I would have made him go home alive, even if he argued with me. He would be alive. He would be _safe_._

_ But he's _not_. He's _dead_, you idiot. He's dead, and he's not coming back. Not ever. _

"Shut up! Shut up, shut up, shut up, SHUT UP!" I don't realize that I'm yelling out loud until my fist slams into the tree. I rest my forehead against the rough bark and squeeze my eyes shut, trying to squeeze out all the memories out the day. But they keep coming back. The smaller things, like the dew on the grass when Matt woke me up this morning, and the larger things, like the blood gushing from both sides of Taurus' head.

Taurus. For some reason, this jolts me out of my numbness. With the thought of Taurus, thoughts of Aurora and Katriena come back too. I killed people. Two people. I press the palms of my hands against my eyes, trying to get the memories to stop replaying under my eyelids. _I'm going insane. That's got to be it. I'm going insane, or maybe I'm already insane. _I'm fully aware that the cameras are most likely on me right now. With only four of us left, I'm probably the most interesting thing that's happening right now, unless a couple of the others managed to find each other.

Four of us left. I open my eyes, staring into my blood-covered hands. There's only three other tributes left. Matt's words from this morning echo in my head. _Four more tributes will be dead by the end of the day, I promise._ He was right. Three of the Careers and him. There's one Career remaining, and I'm betting he's half-dead. He had to be, if he's not with the Careers anymore. That, or he's run off. The girl from Five, Banner, is still alive as well. She's younger than me, and smaller. I could probably beat her. The boy from Six, William, is out there. He's strong, but I'm fast. I might be able to beat him.

Maybe I stand a chance.

I pull my hands away from my face again, and look back at Matt. _I'll win it for him. _And with that thought in mind, I finally manage to gather enough strength to remove the arrow from his chest, and take the mace from his hand and the knife from his belt. He would want me to have them. To make sure I would be safe.

At the last second, I remember his pack that he stashed under a bush. I quickly transfer the supplies into my own pack, before swinging it over my shoulder and heading into the forest, forcing myself to not look back.

* * *

I wake up from a nightmare the next morning and sit up instantly, my hair plastered to my forehead with sweat. The forest around me feels too empty, and I bury my face in my hands again when I remember why. "I have to stop doing this..." I mutter to myself. I have to be strong. I have to keep going, pushing through it, no matter how hard it might be.

Then I think of how long that would be if I won. Waking up every day, knowing that because I'm alive, twenty-three children are now buried six feet under. And I killed some of them. One of them was my friend. My first. Not my first friend ever, but my first true friend. I had one before, but it turned out they weren't as good a friend as I thought they were. But Matt was. He died trying to protect me. I never thought anyone could care about me that much.

The pain hurts, and it's hard to force myself to get up and keep moving. The day feels excruciatingly long, and more than once I find myself turning around to say something before remembering. And each time, the pain feels fresh and new, and all I can think is _How can I go through the rest of my life like this? _But I know I'm going to have to. I have to at least try. If I meet another tribute, I have to at least try and fight them. I keep telling myself to forget about him, that I was stupid to get attached, but my heart ignores it. It's too late now, and I don't think I could ever forget him.

Night rolls in and I find a small cave to sleep in. There seem to be a bunch of them around here, and any shelter's good. I rummage around in my pack for some food, and my fingers brush against a zipper. Frowning, I grab hold of whatever it is and pull it out. A jacket. Matt's voice echoes in my head again. _Just in case. _I pull off my own jacket and pull his on instead. Maybe it's just that it's bigger, or maybe it's comforting because it's his, but I feel warmer and safer in it than in mine.

I curl up in the sleeping bag and use my pack as a pillow, pulling the collar of the jacket up over my mouth and nose. It's still there. The smell of machine oil, woods and Matt. I smile slightly as I fall asleep.

* * *

The next morning's dark and gloomy and gray. I shiver slightly, and pull Matt's jacket tighter around me. The sky's clouded over, and I wonder when the rain's going to come. The pain in my chest is still mind numbing and awful, but I'm getting used to it. It's still there, but it's becoming a part of me. Maybe that's what the rest of my life will be. Numbness. Pain, but pain that I'm used to. It's a little better than overwhelming pain, but it still hurts. I still feel like doing nothing but curl up and sleep. But I push myself through it again. I roll up the sleeping bag, scoop up my pack, and head out into the forest.

I walk for a little while, the cool wind blowing my bangs into my eyes as usual. I shake it out of the way, and they fall back in the way again. I've gotten used to the fact that they always fall into my eyes, and mostly just shake them out of the way out of habit now.

I keep walking. My whole body feels numb and sore at the exact same time. I wonder if that's possible. I keep walking. It takes all my energy to focus on walking. Walk. Walk. Walk. Walk. Wa-

I slam into a tree, someone pinning me to it. I feel a knife get thrust through my wrist and into the tree, trying to pin me there. I pull my head back and then forward suddenly, slamming it into the other person's, causing them to swear and stumble backwards, giving me enough time to rip the knife out of my arm and throw it at them.

The other tribute dodges it. I can see them clearer now. It's William, the boy from Six. He's missing his knife now, but has a long scythe in his hand. I shiver at the sight. It's scaring me more than it should, since I'm heavier armed than him. His one advantage, the element of surprise, is lost now.

I fumble at my belt for the knife, trying to get it out before he reaches me again. He runs at me, and I throw again. It's on track this time, but he swats it out of the air and out of my reach. He knocks me over again, and I tumble across the ground.

I try something different when he runs at me this time. I pull my blowgun off my shoulder and swing it up, hitting him in the groin. He doubles up in pain, swearing at me, giving me enough time to scramble to my feet and a little way away from him. I pull a dart out of the pouch and load the gun, but just as I'm taking aim, William runs at me again, knocking it out of my hands as I hit the ground. He sits on my legs and grabs the gun before I can, hitting me in the stomach with it over and over again. I'm winded by it, but the next time he brings it up, I grab hold of his knees and shove him off of me before he can bring it down again. He tumbles across the ground away from me, and I scramble to my feet, grabbing my mace, my final weapon. Thankfully it's the one I'm best at.

William swings his scythe at me, and I block it easily. He swings again, and I duck under the blade. He scowls, thinking about what he's going to do next. I grip the mace tightly, prepared to block whatever he does. He swings again, and I'm so preoccupied with blocking the blade that I don't notice his foot until it's too late, and he's already tripped me, and I'm crashing to the ground again.

I don't have time to hit him in the groin again before his foot slams down on my wrist. I feel the bones break, and I cry out as quietly as I can. He smirks and kicks my mace away, before stepping back to bask in his victory. "You're good Eight, but not good enough."

I struggle onto my knees so that I'm kneeling in front of him. "I... I know. Just... Make it fast, okay?"

He hesitates for a second before nodding. He pulls his scythe back, and I close my eyes, preparing for the blow that will end my sixteen years of life.

_**~District Eight~**_

Eva knew what was going to happen as soon as William brought his scythe back. "Close your eyes, Luke!"

Luke looks up at his older sister, brown eyes wide. "But-"

"I SAID CLOSE YOUR EYES!" Eva says, panicking as William's scythe comes down.

Luke hears the panic in his sister's voice, and closes his eyes seconds before the scythe slices through his brother's neck.


	24. Chapter 24

**A shorter chapter, sort of an apology for the past few chapters. We're almost done this story! Two more chapters! I'll miss it :')**

_**~Banner's POV~**_

I pull the straps of the backpack onto my shoulders and pick up my axe. Last night, the boy from Eight's face was in the sky, and now we're into the final three. I'm up against the boy from Two, the only remaining Career, and the boy from Six, who overpowers me in strength and size. I want to find them before they find me, or, even better, hope that they find each other. I'm smaller than both of them, and not nearly as skilled. The boy form Six managed to pull off a seven in training, while I only scored a six, and the boy from Two is definitely well-trained, being a Career and all.

The odds aren't in my favour right now, but that doesn't mean that I won't keep fighting.

I start walking through the woods, humming under my breath. The noise relaxes me slightly, and I'm able to keep a steady head.

The snap of a twig gets my attention, and I spin around to the source of the noise, swinging my axe as I go. The boy from Six dodges it, the blade cutting his jacket but nothing else. I take a few steps backwards, away from him. He's covered in blood, and my stomach churns as I wonder what caused it. It's not his own, I can tell that much. His lips curl up into a smirk. "Seems the odds are in my favour. I get to kill both Fives."

Onor! He didn't! He couldn't have! My grip tightens on my axe. Onor's wide blue eyes are permanently burned in my mind. He was terrified of me, but that didn't stop me from caring about him. I swing the axe, aiming for any part of his body that will kill him. His head, his neck, his chest, I don't care. He dodges it, brown eyes flashing. "You little bitch!"

He pulls a scythe out of his belt, and I almost hurl when I see blood covering it. Doesn't he clean his weapons? I only have a second to wonder if it's Onor's or someone else's, before it's swung at my head. I duck under it, racing for a set of boulders a few feet away. I scramble onto one of them, out of his reach. The height gives me an advantage as he climbs onto another one, but not for very long.

We swing at each other, and dodge each other's blows. It's hard to keep my balance on top of the boulders, and my feet scramble around a lot. Luckily the boy's having the same issues, especially with his size. We're about even, except for the fact that his weapon is longer, and he doesn't have to get as close to me to get a blow in.

We both have more than a few cuts on ourselves when he's finally able to knock me to the ground. I roll across the dirt, stopping when I bump into a tree. I'm trapped between the roots, and the boy approaches me. "You know what my favourite part of a kill is?"

"The blood and gore?" I snarl at him.

He smirks and raises the scythe. "No. The moment when they realise that they have no way out."

He brings it down, and it drives through my chest. There's a few seconds of mind blowing pain, and then nothing but blackness.


	25. Chapter 25

**Here's the finale. A reminder that this is not the last chapter of At Second Glance. There's one more chapter, an epilogue of sorts, showing the victor returning home, along with what the rest of their life is like. Hope you enjoy. **

Martin heads towards the Cornucopia, knowing that that was where he was most likely to run into William. He grips his spear tightly in his hand, mentally preparing himself for the fight that would either send him home or to an early grave.

William circles the Cornucopia, keeping an eye out for the red haired Career. He had come this far. He wasn't about to give up and let District Two win again. It was District Six's turn to be recognized. It was his turn to be acknowledged.

William spots him first. He pulls the scythe out of his belt and races across the open area to one of the tribute's metal plates and jumps onto it. Twenty-two days ago, Maria Feren stood there. Now, it's one of the final fighting spots.

"Come on Two! Let's finish this where it all began!" William yells into the woods at Martin.

Martin watches him, calmly pulling his pack off his back. He wouldn't need it anymore. In ten minutes, he would be either dead, or going back to the Capitol. He had no need for any supplies except his spear anymore.

William waits for him, on the balls of his feet, ready to run and dodge as needed. "I'm waiting!"

Martin runs forward, jumping over roots poking out of the ground that might trip him. He races across the open space from the edge of the forest to the metal plate William's on. William jumps down as he approaches, swinging the scythe. Martin ducks under it and hits William in the back of his knees with the shaft of the spear, sending him falling to the ground. He rolls out of the way just in time to avoid being stabbed, scrambling back to his feet.

William swings the scythe again, aiming for the shaft of Martin's spear, hoping to slice it in half. He misses the spear, but not Martin's hand. The younger boy cries out as the fingers on his left hand are cut off. He stares down at his hand, gushing blood. His thumb's still there, but that's not going to do him much good. He's just going to have to hope that he's a good enough fighter with one hand.

William takes a moment to smirk at his handiwork. Even though he denied it when Banner said it, there was a certain satisfaction in making people bleed. He swings the scythe again, this time slicing Martin's stomach open. Martin cries out slightly as the wound Dana made earlier is reopened along with this new one. He struggles to lift the spear. It doesn't look like he stands a chance anymore.

William swings again, and Martin dodges, stumbling backwards and tripping over one of the metal plates. The scythe is swung again and he throws his arm up, causing a long gash to appear there instead of in his chest. He uses his good hand to pull himself backwards, so that when the scythe comes down again, it lands where his legs where a second earlier.

William is starting to get frustrated. The other three didn't put up this much of a fight. The first one didn't put up any, and on the last two he was at least able to get a blow in! Of course, he had managed to hit Martin, but nowhere near the death blow he needed to win.

Martin scrambles to his feet, balancing the spear in his good hand. If he swung it around carefully enough, he might be able to hit William in the chest. It was worth a shot.

The next time that William swings the scythe, Martin ducks under it, spinning around and thrusting out with the spear as he faces him again. But he doesn't have the same aim with only one hand. Instead of going through William's chest like Martin planned, it goes through his head. His cannon fires instantly.

The trumpets sound, followed by the sound of the Capitol citizens' cheering. "Ladies and gentlemen, the victor of the 55th Annual Hunger Games, Martin Wing! Your District Two tribute!"

Martin pulls his spear out of William's head- letting his body fall to the ground, blood spilling out of his head- and tries not to throw up. It was over. He could go home now.

The hovercraft comes down to pick him up, and he grabs hold of the ladder with his good hand. Maybe when he got back to the Capitol they could give him new fingers.

He never got the chance to find out. He passed out the second he made it onto the hovercraft.


	26. Chapter 26

** LAST CHAPTER! Read A/N at end of chapter please :)**

_**~Martin's POV~**_

I step off the train, blinking in the bright sunlight of District Two. The Capitol was able to replace my fingers after all, and I'm beginning to get used to the mechanical fingers. They work exactly like real fingers. They even have nerves, so that I can feel things.

Mom and Dad come over and hug me, and I hug them back tightly. I talk to them as I scan the crowd, looking for one person in particular. I grin when I spot him. Brown hair sticking up in every direction, bright brown eyes, huge grin. "Asren! Come over here!" I call to him.

His grin widens even more if possible, and he runs over. "You did it Martin!"

I smile down at the fourteen year old boy that I volunteered for. "Yeah. Where's Natalie? Did you manage to earn enough?"

Asren nods eagerly. "She's still recovering though, so she stayed at home."

"Can I see her?"

Asren looks at my parents for permission. Shoot. I forgot that I'd have to ask to go places again. Thankfully they nod, and the two of us set off towards the small house that the Young family lives in. Asren chatters happily the entire way.

"You're her hero! She keeps talking about how brave you were, volunteering for me, and how amazing you were in the Games! Our whole family's thankful for you, and we're really glad that you won!"

I smile at him. "Aren't they glad that you raised the money?"

"Of course they are! But I wouldn't have been able to raise it if you hadn't volunteered! I earned enough about two days after the reaping, and we got the treatment done the night of the interviews. She watched the Games while she recovered. Hopefully she'll be able to go back to training in a couple of weeks!"

"How old is she again? Twelve?"

"Thirteen." Asren corrects me, opening the door to their house and ushering me inside.

I follow him down the hallway to a room where a teenage girl is lying in bed. Her brown hair's braided down her back, and her brown eyes still show signs of the fever. She turns her head towards us when we come in. "Asren?"

Asren smiles at her. "Hey, Nat. I brought someone to see you."

I walk over and kneel beside Natalie's bed. "Hey."

Her eyes light up. "Martin? You're here?"

I smile slightly and take her hand in mine. "Yeah. Don't worry, Natalie. It's going to be alright. It's all over."

* * *

Martin grew up and married Natalie. They had two children together, Morgan and Tristan. Martin mentored several times for District Two, including during the Third Quarter Quell. He fought on the side of the rebels during the rebellion, and was killed by a group of Peacekeepers. He died at the age of thirty-five.

**Wow. It's over. I want to thank everyone who followed/favourited/reviewed. A HUGE thanks to HogwartsDreamer113, Kate-The-Great-And-Powerful and CelticGames4. You guys reviewed every chapter, and were there backing me up, even when I felt like no one but you was reading this story. A special thanks to Kate for making the amazing cover. I still love it :)**

** If you want more of the 55th Hunger Games tributes, please check out my other stories, Iron Children, and Flowers for a Ghost. I can't wait to get started on my next story, about the 56th Games. It should be going up sometime tonight. Thank you all for your support while I wrote this story. I love you all :)**


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